


No Strings To Bind Your Hands

by Dresupi



Series: Quicktaser Fics [22]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, Awesome Darcy Lewis, Bad Decisions, Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Dubious Science, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fake Science, Fluff, Food Aversions, Heavy Angst, Lack of Communication, Misunderstandings, Morning Sickness, Oblivious Pietro Maximoff, One Night Stands, Oral Sex, POV Darcy Lewis, POV Pietro Maximoff, Panic Attacks, Pietro Maximoff Feels, Pietro Maximoff Lives, Pregnancy, Romantic Fluff, Smut, Tropes, Unplanned Pregnancy, Wet & Messy, Work In Progress, unprotected sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2017-11-14
Packaged: 2018-08-29 18:59:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 25,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8501581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dresupi/pseuds/Dresupi
Summary: When a one-night stand has lasting repercussions of the life altering kind, what's a girl to do when her genetically-enhanced  former paramour is no longer heating up her sheets?    There's a way to solve this problem, and it involves communication.  *Sigh* But who in the hell wants to communicate with the father of their child?  ~On hiatus, not abandoned~





	1. Prologue: All Through the Night

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter of this is a slight rewrite of one of my song prompts that I did back on 17 March 2016 on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/post/141221564419/yay-prompts-darcypietro-for-i-knew-you-were) for mefiora.
> 
> After that, it's all new stuff.
> 
> Title comes from the first line of the song 'Angel of the Morning' by Juice Newton.
> 
>   
>   
> Look at this awesome cover art [romanoffsbite](http://romanoffsbite.tumblr.com/) made for me!!!

Her skin prickled when Pietro appeared beside her, stealing one of her chips with a smirk as he leaned against her desk. 

Darcy both loved and hated that about him.  How his mere presence was enough to make her skin flush.  Nerves tingle in the memory of what those very dexterous fingers were capable of.  How the ache in her chest that was constantly there became more pronounced whenever he was near.  Whenever he grinned in that way he had. 

When she could remember what his bare skin felt like.  How his lips felt when they were pressed against hers.      

“How are you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows and popping the chip into his mouth. 

“Good.  I’m good,” she pressed her lips together and stared at her computer screen.  Screaming internally because she so WASN’T good.  She hadn’t been good since she’d woken up that morning without him.

That had been two months ago.  For two months, she’d been miserable.  And he’d been just fine and dandy, if his romantic life was any indication.

Fine and dandy.  

Her stomach rolled, reminding her of the  _ other _ more pressing repercussion of that fateful hook-up.

She’d known for four weeks.  Because for four weeks, she’d puked up everything she ate.  She got dizzy at the slightest provocation.  Oh.  And the dozen or so pregnancy tests of varying brands and types that had all come back positive.  

All because of the little…peanut.  The little peanut that he’d left her with but knew nothing about.  The little peanut that was very intent on making its presence known.    

“I’m happy to hear it,” his eyes weren’t looking at her.  They were across the room, staring at the new intern.  Jessica. 

Her stomach rolled and she thought she might toss her cookies for the second time that day.  She pushed back from her desk, a cold sweat beading on her forehead as she tried to think of a reason to leave the room.  Maybe if she puked on him?  Maybe that would give her an out.  Maybe then, he wouldn’t be able to go flirt with Jessica either.  

Who was she kidding?  Knowing Pietro, he’d be able to pick up a girl with his shirt covered in puke.   

“What’s her —“ he started. 

“Jessica.  Her name is Jessica,” Darcy said shortly.  “I gotta go do a thing for…science.  Bye.” 

She stumbled once as she made her way to the break room, making it to the trash can before her midmorning snack came back for a visit. 

While Darcy was rinsing her mouth out at the sink, Jane’s cool fingers reached around to feel her forehead.   

“When are you telling him, Darcy?”  Her boss’ voice was quiet. 

“God…don’t talk about that.  I don’t want to puke again…” 

Jane handed her a paper towel to wipe her face. “He deserves to know.  YOU deserve for him to know.  Maybe he’ll stop sleeping around.” 

“Right. Because that’s what every girl dreams of.  For a one-night-stand to knock them up and be awkward around them for 18 years.” 

“Darcy…”  

“Jane.  Look, I know what I’m doing, okay?” 

“Engaging in emotional masochism?”

“Yes.  Now leave me to my lifestyle choices.” 

Jane sighed. “I just don’t know how you’re going to explain it when the kid comes out with white hair and crawling at the speed of sound.” 

“Pietro bleaches his hair. His natural color is brown.   _ Believe _ me.  And also? Newborns don’t crawl.  Geez, Jane.” 

She rolled her eyes, “My mistake.” 

Darcy rubbed her hand over her still flat stomach, peering out the door to where Pietro was standing.  Flirting with Jessica the intern. “No.  It’s my mistake.” 

 


	2. we have no past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this chapter's got hella smut. 
> 
> And I hope it all makes sense. Because the smut is a flashback. The best kind of flashbacks are smutty, right? ;P 
> 
> Anywho, hope you guys enjoy this. Two updates in one day! Woot! I'm on fire! 
> 
> Also, **tw: abortion mention** , but given the nature and the tags of this fic, you can guess how that's going to go. 
> 
> Also ALSO: Super special thanks to hollyspacey for cringe-beta-ing my smut for me! :D

Darcy was sipping on an herbal tea in the coffee house when it really hit her.  Like... _ really _ hit her.  

She’d bought all the pregnancy books, sure. She’d read about how her body would change, about all the aches and pains she’d have. She’d made an appointment with her OB/GYN.  

But it was seeing that mom come in with her baby that really kind of hit the ball home, so to speak.  

The mom wasn’t older.  She wasn’t one of those thirty-somethings that Darcy always thought of when she thought about young mothers.  No, this mom was  _ young _ .  Not teen-mom young.  But young enough to be considered a contemporary. Early twenties, probably.  

She had reddish hair thrown back into a messy bun, she was wearing gray lounge pants and an oversized cardigan.  She had dark-rimmed glasses and a smart phone.  She ordered a white chocolate mocha.  She was a millennial breeder.

She was practically Darcy.  A box of hair dye and a pair of earbuds away from being Darcy.  

Oh, and the baby.  This woman also had her baby already.  A chunky little thing wearing some kind of baby-hipster-mod-mashup clothing that looked absolutely adorable.  

“Quillen..”  the mother cooed, smiling down into the stroller as she waited for her coffee.   

_ Quillen?  What a fucking adorable name.  What a fucking adorable baby. _

Darcy sat back in her chair.  This...this woman?  This mom?  This was going to be her.  In a few short months.  That was going to be her, with the baby stroller and the chunky little lump of baby cuteness.  

God.  How in the world could something so cute and squishy come from that...thing that she and Pietro had done?  

Because while they hadn’t been  _ nasty _ , per se...it had been kind of dirty.  Hot, but dirty.  

_ Oh good god.  If I had known we were making a baby, I wouldn’t have let him do half of that stuff… _

If Darcy had been wearing pearls, she’d have clutched them.  Because holy mother.

Of course, thinking about Pietro wasn’t something she wanted to be doing.  But it seemed like no matter what topic she tried to force into her brain, the thing that always came out on the other side looking like Pietro.  

She was starting to have wishful thoughts about the two of them raising this baby together, and stopped herself.  No, they wouldn’t be raising it together.  If she had her way, he’d never know the baby was his, because she’d rather die than force him into a relationship with her out of some sense of nobility or whatever.  And Pietro was a good guy.  A decent guy.  If a touch flakey and maybe just this side of clueless. But Darcy would like to think that if he had any idea that he was hurting her with his sleeping around, he would at least attempt to be more discreet about it.  So, it only stood to reason that he’d try to do right by her if he knew she was having his baby.  

Her stomach always churned when she thought about it in those terms.  Having Pietro’s baby.  His baby.  Pietro’s baby inside her.  Pietro  _ putting  _ a baby inside her.  

Holy Christ. What was she doing?  

She took a sip of her tea.  Ginger, with a touch of honey.  It was supposed to help soothe her morning sickness.  She supposed it was helping.  Maybe.  A little.     

She’d briefly entertained the idea of getting rid of the baby.  But deep down, she knew she wasn’t ever going to do that.  Darcy was hella on board with women’s rights over their own bodies, and she’d always thought that if this happened to her, she’d do the responsible thing and get rid of it.  She wasn’t in any position to raise a baby on her own.  She was living in Stark Tower, for crying out loud.  The most  _ targeted _ place on earth besides maybe the White House, or wherever Jane wanted to science on any given day.  

But when she’d seen those two little lines on that first pregnancy test, she’d known.  She’d known deep down that she was going to keep the baby.  It was some inexplicable thing.  Something she never knew she wanted until she had it.  

And it was going to be hard.   Probably the hardest thing she’d ever done.

There wasn’t any way she was going to try to force a romance on top of raising a child.  

No matter how dreamy the father was.  Or how that accent of his did things to her.  Or how earth-shatteringly  _ good  _ the sex was.  

Because the sex  _ was _ good.  

Mercy.  It had been so good.  

* * *

 

_**Two Months Before...** _

Pietro’s skin was so smooth and he growled against her when she let her hands roam.  Fingertips raking over his chest and abs, dipping below the waistband of his jockeys, feeling the swell of his absolutely amazing ass and the hard press of his hips against hers.  Darcy wrapped her legs around his waist, pressing and holding him still. She rolled her hips slightly, rubbing herself against his erection.  

His breath caught in his throat, he braced his weight on his forearms, bracketing her head with them.  Caging her in as he nipped at her mouth, swallowing every sound that she made, licking along the seam of her lips.

She broke off the kiss to nuzzle her way down to his neck.  To suck a mark on the pale skin of his throat.  One that disappeared almost immediately, damn his fast metabolism and quickened heal time.  Darcy wanted nothing more than to mark him up for days.  Leave no doubt in anyone's mind that she had been there.  That he had been here with her.  In her bed.  Between HER thighs.

She tightened them around his waist at the thought.    

He mumbled things, lots of things, and none of them in English.  But each word was somehow both smooth and guttural, and left her aching and wanting because his tone was positively  _ filthy _ .

He sat up on his knees, grabbing her and pulling her down further on the mattress.  He ripped off both her panties  _ and _ his briefs in one clean, but blurred movement.  

His fingers moved between her legs, sliding through her slick folds and parting her for him. He bit his lip hard and rutted against the mattress while his fingers pressed into her warmth.   

"I cannot wait to be inside you, Darcy..." he breathed, his eyelids fluttering closed as he fucked his fingers deep inside her, crooking them slightly to stroke at her inner walls.  

"I want you...Pietro, please..." she pleaded, reaching for him.  She didn't care one iota for the foreplay.  She wanted the stretch…the heat…the hot hard feel of him inside her.  She just... _ wanted _ . 

He withdrew his fingers, sucking them into his mouth and releasing them with a soft pop before he crawled up her body. He paused to lean down and mouth over her sex.  His tongue flicked out to taste her, making her regret not taking it for a test drive.  

Maybe there would be time for that later...

He kissed his way slowly up her body, sucking loudly on her skin. His eyes never left hers, humor danced in them when she giggled.

He balanced over her, reaching down to line himself up, rubbing the head of his cock through her slickness.  "Is this alright?" he asked, arching an eyebrow. Even as his breath stuttered on the way out, even as his eyes searched hers more deeply than ever, he  _ still _ kept up that smart-ass facade.  

She nodded fervently, spreading her knees further to give him room.  

He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers as he pressed inside her, sliding in to the hilt.  

Her walls stretched to allow him.  A delicious burn that made her groan softly into his mouth before biting his bottom lip.

Pietro paused once more, breaking off the kiss and brushing her hair out of her face.  "Still okay?"  His eyes were dark, with only a thin ring of blue surrounding his pupils.  There was a catch in his voice, his muscles were tense.   

"More than..." Darcy breathed, her hands sliding up his back, up his neck and into his hair. “How about you?”

He huffed out a sound that sounded like it was supposed to be laughter.  "Same."

And then he started to move.     

It was intense. And intimate. The most intimate she'd been with anyone in…well, ever.    

There wasn't a time where they weren't touching each other.  Hands clasped, fingers laced as he pressed them over her head and snapped his hips forward, filling her as fast as he pulled out.  His eyes holding her gaze.  

True to form, he ran his mouth the whole time.  A broken litany of Sokovian and English.  Her name, whispered over and over in time with his hips.  

His face, that was what she watched.  She watched him up close as his hair fell in his face, fighting pleasure to keep his eyes open.  He called her beautiful.  Gorgeous. He gripped her hands as he pressed repeatedly into her.

"Darcy, do you...Are you protected?"  He grunted as his thrusting became frantic.  

"Yeah...yeah...go for it..." She wasn’t anywhere near being finished, but she nodded, tugging her hands free of his and reaching for him.  She pushed his hair back before pulling him down for a kiss.  Her mouth muffled all the sounds he made as he came.

His movements slowed, his eyes raked over her like he was just seeing her for the first time.  His cheeks reddened and he kissed her quickly.  His mouth moving against hers like he was trying to drink her up.  

He pulled away to whisper in her ear. "I'm sorry,  _ Draga _ ...I didn't wait for you..."  

She rolled her eyes.  "Somehow I'm not surprised."  

"Darcy, you wound me." He kissed her again, his lips pulling deliciously at hers.  Almost as if they didn’t want to let hers go.  "I am NOT a selfish lover..."  

"Funny, that wasn't my experience," she teased.  

"I promise, it NEVER happens like this..."  He eased himself out of her, moving his lips to her jaw and down her throat.  "You make me crazy..."  He sucked a nipple into his mouth, flicking his tongue over her.  "You make me forget myself..."  

She had a snarky retort all ready.  Except he was moving down between her legs and she was sitting up. She grasped the back of his head, pulling him back.  

He looked up at her questioningly.  It was almost comical, how she was holding him up by his hair.  “Something wrong,  _ Princeza _ ?

"Pietro...you just...you know...inside?"  

He scoffed, shaking his head free of her hand and reaching up to press her gently back onto the bed.  "Yes, I remember..."  He smirked mischievously.  "And the gentlemanly thing to do is to clean you up..."

He pressed a kiss to her belly, another to her hip, and finally her thigh, spreading them further apart before he ducked his head down between them.  

She felt his tongue prod her gently, licking up the length of her slit before he delved further in.  She felt hyper sensitive, and she jumped when the tip of his tongue touched her clit.  

He chuckled, the sound rumbling against her as he settled into a steady rhythm.  A pattern.  He swirled her clit around and back again, dipped down to lick at her opening, pressing his tongue up into her and dispelling any notion she might have had that he was grossed out by what he’d left there.  

She inhaled sharply when he sucked her clit between his lips, his tongue vibrating against the sensitive nub and making her thighs clench around his head.  

He hummed against her, reaching up to pry her legs apart again, relentlessly stimulating her until her orgasm crashed through her and she cried out his name. Her legs and arms tingled as he worked her through it.  She reached down to grab the back of his head, to yank him back by his hair when it became too much.  

Pietro licked his lips, grinning obscenely as he crawled up her body.  “We taste good together,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss her.    

* * *

 

She woke up hours after falling asleep, missing the weight and heat of his body against her.  She groped around in the cool sheets before rolling out of bed and shuffling to the bathroom, her thighs aching with the reminder of how she'd spent her evening: wrapped around Pietro Maximoff.  

Who had apparently scampered off after she went to sleep.  

She couldn’t say she was surprised.  

She'd kind of known the type of guy he was.  He loved and left.  Or loved and called a cab, if they happened to be at his place.  

She knew what she was getting into.  She  _ fucking _ knew.  

Which was why the blinding torrent of tears running down her cheeks caught her by complete surprise.  

She knew what it was when they'd stumbled in here, attached at the lips, his hands all over her. She knew then.    

She sniffed, rubbed at her eyes and shuffled out to the living room. She slid the deadbolt into place and turned off the bathroom light on her way back to her bedroom.     

She’d known.  But apparently, knowing didn’t stop the ache.   

* * *

 

_**Present** _

The baby squawking brought Darcy out of her smutty memories.  

The mother had taken a seat in one of the couches beside the front window of the coffee house, and the baby was now bouncing gleefully on her knee while she tried to drink her coffee.  

The sight scared Darcy more than a little bit..  

She was doing this alone.  

Darcy was the type of person who couldn’t even go to the movies alone.  She didn’t know how many times Jane had dragged her to some foreign film or another, and she’d gone simply for the company.  Because she couldn’t stomach sitting alone in a cinema.  

How was she going to raise a baby by herself?  

Was that even something she  _ could _ do?  Was she capable?  

She glanced over at the mother again.  Upon closer inspection, the other woman had stains on her cardigan.  Stains on her pants.  Dark circles under her eyes.  A cheerio in her hair.  She only had eyeliner on one eye.  Whether that was on accident, or because it had gotten smudged off, Darcy had no way of knowing.    

_ Oh god.  If I do this...that’s my life.  Bouncing a kid on my knee and trying to enjoy my coffee.  But who is she kidding?  No one is enjoying themselves but that baby.   _

_ Holy crap nuggets.  My kid might even be enhanced.  God, there is no way of knowing...what if he or she is like...super fast?  Like father like spawn?     _

The thought of chasing around a mini-version of Pietro all alone and wearing eyeliner on one eye was nearly enough to make her start having second thoughts.  

She took another sip of her cooled tea before standing abruptly and dumping the rest in the garbage.  

She needed to talk to Jane.  She needed to talk to someone with a level, un-hormone-addled head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That eyeliner mention on that coffee-shop mom was a little homage to myself. ;) I've gone out on more than one occasion with winged eyeliner on one eye and not the other, simply because I forgot. *facepalm*
> 
> Also, I haven't forgotten, Darcy will go into why her bc didn't work in the next chapter. And don't worry. It's NOT Pietro's super sperm, it's a totally legit explanation.


	3. we won't reach back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *bashes head on desk* This is so angsty. How very dare I do this to me? 
> 
> How very dare I do this to you? 
> 
> How very dare I do this to Darcy and Pietro? 
> 
> GODDDDD. 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Well. That was your warning. Enjoy. Enjoy this angst. Taste it. Touch it. FEEL IT.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed. All mistakes are mine.

Jane’s fingers felt cool on her forehead as she stroked her hair. Darcy was currently curled into Jane’s lap like an enormous depressed kitten. She had made a bee-line towards the tower following her coffee shop epiphany, immediately seeking out her friend’s company and guidance.   

“What do  _ you _ want, Darcy?” Jane asked, her fingers still stroking Darcy’s forehead as she stared at the glass of water she’d placed on the coffee table in front of the couch, stared at it like she was asking  _ it _ the questions.  

_ What do you really want, glass of water?  A coaster? For someone to drink you? _

“What do you REALLY want?”  

Darcy sniffled, realizing that she was going to have to answer her.  She curled more tightly into Jane’s lap.  “To have the baby.”  

“Okay, then  _ have _ the baby.  If that’s what you want, if that’s what is going to make you happy, then that’s what I want for —”  

“What if my life changes too much, though?”  Darcy groaned and closed her eyes, imagining all the ways her life was going to be different.  Irreparably different.  And forever.  Forever different.  Not that she was some kind of party animal or anything.  But she was kind of set in her ways.  Change…argh…Change  _ bad. _

“It’s  _ going _ to change—” Jane started.  

“I KNOW it’s going to change…” Darcy replied, with more than a touch of belligerence.   “I just mean…what if I become some frumpy, sleep-deprived shell of a human? What if I never sleep again?  WHAT IF I can never find anyone who wants to be around me?  What if I’m alone forever? Well, not alone.  Never alone again.  This little peanut will always be there, I guess.  Me and Peanut.  Against the world.”  

“Darcy…” Jane looked down at her, eyes warm and friendly.  “If what you’re worried about is doing it alone, you won’t be alone.  I have no intention of leaving you to flounder.  You aren’t going to do this by yourself.  You’ll have me.  And Thor.  And Natasha and Clint.  Tony can’t help but be involved in every single thing that happens in this tower, so you know he’ll be there.  Bruce and Steve too.  And Wanda…”  she trailed off, purposefully leaving an annoyingly  _ pregnant _ pause in place of the one name she hadn’t mentioned.    

Darcy’s head snapped up.  “Do you really mean it Jane?  You won’t abandon me when I’m cranky and mean and sleep deprived?”  

“Well, I mean… I don’t abandon you  _ now _ , so…”  

Darcy landed a well-deserved, if really weak, smack on Jane’s shoulder. 

Jane snorted.  “Besides, I’d like to see you try to keep me away from my godchild…” She shook her head.  “That’ll be the day.”    

“Who said  _ you _ were going to be the godmother?” Darcy asked, squinting up at her.  

“Well, aren’t I?”  

“Of  _ course _ , but at least give me the pleasure of asking you…sheesh…” Darcy slowly pulled herself up to a seated position, off Jane’s lap as she flopped over onto the arm of the sofa.  “Thor’s gonna be the godfather, naturally.  I mean, he’s already a god.” 

Jane smiled and turned towards her again.  “Can I ask you one thing, Darcy? Please feel free to smack me again if this crosses a line.”  

“Anything, Godmother-To-Be.  You know there are no lines.”  

“Don’t you have one of those alarm things on your birth control pills?  So you remember to take them?  I mean…honestly.  You’re so careful, how did this ever happen?”  

Darcy sighed, closing her eyes momentarily.  “Antibiotics.  Remember?  I had that sinus infection back in August?  I took antibiotics.  Completely forgot that they screw with the pill.”  

Jane pressed her lips together, nodding in sympathy.  “I’m sorry, Darcy.”

“Eh.  Well.  You know, couldn’t have happened to a better person, I guess.”  

“Whatever.  You deserve more than getting knocked up on a one-night stand with a superhero…”      

Darcy shrugged in response to that, not really wanting to get into the whole ‘Pietro thing’ right now. She pushed up from the couch, feeling her latest and greatest excuse coming on.  “I’d better go on home.  I can feel my ‘any-fucking-time-of-day’ sickness creeping up on me.  I need to go eat a banana so I have something to puke.”  

“Are you taking the vitamins I got you?”  Jane got up to walk her to the door.  “Can you keep them down?”  

Darcy shrugged. “ Maybe?  I can’t tell if I’m throwing them up or not…but considering that everything that goes in seems to come out soon after…ehhhh…” She groaned and slumped her shoulders, sticking out her bottom lip into a perfect pout.  “I really miss eating, Jane.”  

“I’ll bet…Did you talk to Pietro yet?”   

She sighed deeply.  She didn’t know why she thought she would be able to get through this visit with Jane without having to answer the dreaded recurring question.  “When would I have done that, Jane?  I went from the lab to the coffee shop to your apartment.”  

“It was rhetorical…posed as a way to passive aggressively remind you to  _ talk _ to him.”  

Remind her.  Like she had forgotten.  Like she didn’t think about his stupid smirky face every time her stomach rolled, or heaved, or did absolutely nothing…because Pietro was the only thing on her mind lately.  Besides his offspring, which was technically in her uterus.  

“I’m…” Darcy looked down.  “I’m not sure I’m  _ going _ to talk to him.”  

“What?”  Jane put her hand on the door to keep her from opening it.  “Why not?”  

“Because…he obviously doesn’t want to be with me, right?”  

“That doesn’t matter.  He has a responsibility to at least HELP you with—”  

“And Pietro’s a good guy, right?” Darcy interrupted, shooting Jane a look of annoyance.  She loved her so much, and this streak of bamf was definitely something that needed to stick around, but not  _ right _ this second while Darcy was trying to explain something.    

“Arguably…” Jane conceded.   

“I don’t want him to try to  _ make _ something work with me just for the sake of the baby.  And he would.  I don’t want him to want me because of the baby. I want him to want  _ me _ .”

Jane pressed her lips together, looking down sheepishly at her hands.  “You think he’d try to force himself to—?”  

“I think he’s got some old fashioned Sokovian ideals up in that noggin of his.  And I think that he’d ask.”  

“So?  He asks.  You say no.  He helps you with the baby and is a father. Best of both worlds?”   

Darcy shook her head.  “I don’t know that I  _ could _ say no to him.”  She honestly didn’t.  She had it so bad for the guy.  And had ever since she met him, basically.  That smirk, that charm…that accent?  He had this way of making every person he talked to the absolute center of his focus.  And his focus, while fleeting, was intense while it lasted.  God, she really needed to get out of here before she started another chorus of  _ ‘What the fuck was I thinking?’ _

“Ah,” Jane nodded, removing her hand from the door.  There was a long moment of silence before Darcy went to reach for the knob again.  When she did, Jane pulled her into a tight hug.  So tight that it made Darcy squeak. 

“Hey, hey…easy now…I’m like a shaken up soda bottle…contents under pressure…” 

“Oh, right. Sorry, Darce.”  

* * *

 

Darcy made it home just in time to upend the contents of her stomach into the guest bathroom toilet.  She was rinsing out her mouth at the sink when she heard the doorbell.  Groaning, she checked her appearance in the mirror.  Red, bloodshot eyes.  Pale complexion.  Still shaky.  Great.  Just awesome.She turned and headed out into the hall just in time  to hear it ring again.

“Darcy, I know you’re home…” came the familiar voice with the sexy, albeit slightly muffled, accent through her door.  She secretly thrilled a little at the way Pietro said her name.  The way his tongue caressed the syllables.  Like he was tasting it thoroughly.  He had no right to be this attractive.  How very dare he?

“Coming!” she called, padding to the door and opening it.  She leaned against it, both for actual support and because maybe, just maybe, she might look cute?  No.  But really.  Shaky legs.  

He smiled when he saw her.  A sympathetic sort of expression, but Darcy would take what she could get.  Whatever Pietro would give her.  “Jane said you were sick?  Lady troubles? I…uh…” his face reddened.  “I brought you chocolate?”  He extended his arm, offering her a drug store bag.  He continued talking, but all Darcy could do was look at the brown paper back and watch the room start spinning as the thought of its contents made her stomach heave again.

“Sorry…” she turned and bolted from the door, making it as far as the trash can beside her pantry door before whatever was left in her stomach came back up again.

Luckily, she’d changed the bag in the kitchen trash can that morning.  Didn’t make this any less embarrassing, though.  

She figured he’d probably bolted when she heard the door close.  So when his hand touched the small of her back, she jumped a little.  

“Shh…just me…”  He reached down to pull her hair out of the way, holding it behind her neck as his other hand traced small, soothing circles on her back as she retched into the black Rubbermaid.  Her knuckles were white as she gripped the edge of the trash can, having thrown the lid to an unknown, unimportant location when the room had started doing the Viennese Waltz without her. 

“Okay…” she croaked, “Think it’s all out now…”  She slowly straightened her back, thankful that the room was no longer spinning.  “I’m sorry about—”  

“No, no…don’t be.  Here…if I may?”  He bent to gingerly lift her into his arms, carrying her slowly towards her couch. The ‘slowly’ thing was what got her.  He was being so thoughtful. Kind.  “Do you need anything?  Water?”

Jesus Christ, what  _ was _ he even?  

Darcy nodded, closing her eyes to get her bearings, still not completely convinced that this wasn’t some kind of a hunger/fever dream, brought on by constant vomiting and a slight infatuation with the man currently waiting on her hand and foot.  

He was nudging a bottle into her hand a mere second later.  “That was fast…” she mumbled.  

Pietro chuckled.  “Yeah, well.  It’s kind of my thing.”  

She felt the couch dip as he sat down beside her.   “You don’t have to stay, Pietro…thank you for thinking of me, but—”  

“I don’t get sick,” he waved his hand flippantly.  “And you look like you could use someone to take care of you for a change.”  

A warmth spread in her chest that nearly brought tears to her eyes. Damn hormones. She looked down at the bottle of water in her hands, addressing it rather than look up at him and most definitely burst into tears.  “Thank you.”  

“You are more than welcome…”  Pietro reached for the remote, turning on her TV.  “What do you want to watch?”  

She shrugged. “Nothing with food. I can’t…I can’t do food right now.”  

He smirked.  “No Iron Chef, then.  Got it, Lewis.”  

God, what was he trying to do to her?  Because she was dangerously close to becoming a puddle on the floor.  

* * *

 

He was still in her apartment hours later, letting her head fall on his shoulder as the theme song to Cheers played for what felt like the billionth time.  

“Pietro?”  

“Hmm?”  

“I’m not really sick.”  

He chuckled.  “I think you are, Darcy.”  

Darcy gulped nervously.  Because there wasn’t any going back after she told him this.  “No.  I mean…I am  _ vomiting _ , but it’s not because I’m sick.  It’s because…” She trailed off before biting the bullet and pressing forward.  She was going to tell him.  He was here.  Jane was right.  He deserved to know.  And in lieu of very recent events…and possibly due to her wonky hormones, she wanted him to know.  “It’s because I’m pregnant.”  

_ With your child… _ The words sat heavy on the end of her tongue.  Unmoving. Only half of a confession.    

He was quiet for a long moment.  So long that Darcy almost regretted even telling him the half truth.  She honestly wanted the couch to open up and swallow her.  Anything would be better than this stupid silence. Stupid, annoying…fucking…SILENCE.  

Until he chuckled.  Nervously.  “Okay.  Well. That would explain the chocolate aversion.”  

Darcy returned the nervous laugh…a high pitched titter that honestly made her want to die.  

He was quiet for another long moment, obviously choosing his words carefully. He frowned, which made her stomach drop again.  He was smart. Clever.  Maybe he’d figured it out.  Maybe she wouldn’t have to tell him that part of it after all.  He coughed before speaking.  “Does the father know?”  

Her stomach fell.  He thought there was someone else. He’d just automatically assumed he had nothing to do with it.  (Which, why wouldn’t he?  She distinctly remembered telling him not to worry about it that night). 

And how could she tell him he was the father now?  When he thought that she had dudes? Multiple dudes?  How could she tell him the baby was his?  God, what if he didn’t believe her?  What if this turned into a Maury Povich type of situation?  What if he wanted a paternity test?  God, that would really sour their relationship.  It was with thoughts of trashy daytime television that she answered his question.   

“No,” she said.  Not actually lying.  Because he knew she was pregnant, just didn’t know it was his.   

Pietro nodded, swallowing thickly.  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he processed what she said.  “Well. Whatever happens, know that I’m here for you, Darcy.” 

Her heart soared. Her breath caught in her throat.   

“Wanda too. We’ll help however we can. If you decide not to tell the father, it’s okay.  Because you have us.   All of us, I’m sure.”  

And just as it was soaring high with the eagles, her heart dropped again.  

Friends.  He was offering his services as a supportive friend.  Potential babysitter for no more than two hours on week nights.  He was here for her in a friendly capacity.  Friends.  Buddies.  Chums.    

Darcy nodded, straightening up and lifting her head from his shoulder.  She didn’t feel sick, but she felt tired.  So very tired all of the sudden.  “Thanks, Pietro.  For everything…I’m kind of tired, so I’m just gonna head off to bed now, okay?”  

“Okay….” He sounded confused.  And she realized that she probably sounded weird.  Off.  

“I just…I’m falling asleep…” she attempted a smile that was probably as thin as her excuse.  A smile that nonetheless seemed to land, since he returned it.  He held out his hand to steady her as she stood.  “You can let yourself out, right?  You…uh…know the way…”  She bit down on her tongue, anything to stop the deluge of passive aggressive bullshit.  “Could you…uh…lock the door this time?” she asked before she walked back to the hallway.  She didn’t bother looking back at him.  

She couldn’t.    

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/)!
> 
> Also, we're finally getting a Pietro POV chapter next time! Finally going to let you into his head a little bit. ;) 
> 
> Love you all. <3 You know why. <3


	4. keep with me forward all through the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! 
> 
> This chapter is more angst. But it's Pietro angst. So that's different, kind of? 
> 
> I know you guys probably guessed that Pietro was going to be a mess in this fic. I'm just warning you in case you didn't...Pietro's a mess in this fic. 
> 
> Also some appearances from Clint and Wanda here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to [Hollyspacey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollyspacey/pseuds/Hollyspacey) for being my sounding board for this chapter! :D 
> 
> Also, the Sokovian Pietro speaks in this chapter is really Czech. (Just so you know, I use a mixture of Serbian and Czech for Sokovian.) 
> 
> If you're on a PC, you can hover over the text for a translation, but if you're on a tablet or mobile, you'll have to scroll down to the bottom for translations like a common peasant. I'm sorry. :(

“She’s pregnant…pregnant…” Pietro muttered under his breath, unable to take his mind off of Darcy or her ‘delicate’ condition for even one second.  His feet pounded on the track.  The wind whipped by, a dull whir in his ears.  His blood pulsed through his veins.  Everything was so damn loud.  

But not nearly as loud as it was when he wasn’t moving.    

His feet hurt, his calves hurt. He’d lost count of the laps long ago.  Around lap number three-hundred-fifty or so.   It’s all he’d been doing for the past three days.  Running and thinking.  Thinking and running.

He needed this.  Needed his body to be occupied so he could concentrate on Darcy.  On what the fuck he was going to do now.  She was having a baby.  Having some other man’s baby.  

His throat constricted and he forced himself to swallow back the lump that had formed.What if she’d been pregnant already when they—He asked her then if she was protected…and she said to ‘go for it’.  What the fuck did that mean?  Was that even an answer?  

He inhaled deeply, surging forward even faster than before.  The thing of it was, he didn’t _really_ care.  He didn’t care that she was pregnant.  Or that it was someone else’s.  

Sure, he’d been disappointed when she told him and didn’t immediately follow up with _‘And it’s yours, so pony up, Wonder Boy.’_  He’d have given anything in that moment to hear those words.  Or something like them.  For her to lob the ball down into his court.  To drop the weight and let him carry it for her.  She looked so conflicted.  Teary-eyed.  Confused.  Upset.  He wanted to be able to help her.

But now, as he was thinking about it…it didn’t really matter, did it?  

Sure, Darcy having a kid was a big deal.  But it didn’t change the way he felt about her.  Not one bit.  He still wanted to worship the ground she walked on.  Still did, actually.  From afar. He’d decided sometime between when he left the tower the morning after she told him and when he’d arrived at the New Avengers Facility that he was through pretending there wasn’t anything wrong.  He was through pretending he wasn’t head over heels for Darcy Lewis.  That he hadn’t been from the moment he met her.  That the one night they’d spent together wasn’t the best one of his entire life.

The best _and_ the worst night of his life.  

Because she’d both accepted _and_ rejected him that night.  And he could try to shake it off all he wanted, but the wound hadn’t healed.

Clint’s voice interrupted his thoughts.  It reached his ears, unintelligible, but Pietro could hear him.  And his thought dropped off as quickly as it had formed.  Gone with the wind.

He slowed down until he could stop.  His sneakers skidded on the asphalt and he ended up overshooting the area of the chain link fence where the archer was currently leaning.  

The soles of his feet were burning in that familiar way and when Pietro looked down, he realized that he’d melted his sneakers again.  Tony was going to be pissed that he’d ruined another pair.  He always grumbled that between the shoe budget and the food budget, Pietro was the most expensive one on the team.  

Pietro didn’t really think that was true.  He didn’t destroy nearly as many buildings or aircraft as Banner did.  He didn’t anger as many foreign governments as Rogers did.  And he was pretty sure Thor was the reigning champ when it came to eating.    No, it was probably just Stark’s way of picking on him.  

He stopped moving, bending down to unlace his shoes and tug them off.  The ground felt cool on his feet.  Soothing.  

He walked gingerly over to where Clint was standing and smirking in his direction.  “What do you want?” Pietro asked, a little harsher than he meant it to sound, but his feet hurt.  And Clint was cutting into his thinking time.  He needed to go rub some aloe on his feet and change his shoes so he could run again.  

His stomach growled loudly, a visceral reminder that he had skipped lunch.  And that wasn’t really something he could afford to do.

So food, shoes, run.    

Clint raised his hands in surrender.  “I was just saying.  You’ve been out here for a while.”  

“Yeah?”  Pietro had half a mind to leave him in the dust, just run off barefoot and make Clint find him again.  Make the old man work a little for his paycheck.  

Except there was the other half of his mind that wanted to stay right here.  Take what Barton was half-assed offering him.  The problem was, Pietro wasn’t sure he _could_ talk to Clint about it.  Most of it wasn’t even his secret.  And as far as he knew, there weren’t very many people who knew about Darcy’s ‘little stranger’.  Dr. Foster probably did.  And he knew, of course.  And Wanda, because in her words, Pietro couldn’t ‘keep his damn thoughts to himself’.  

“Darcy got ya torn up, Piet? Is that baby yours or somethin’?”  

That certainly answered his question.  Pietro frowned.  “No.  It’s not.  And I’m not sure we should be discussing this…”  

“Calm down.  Darcy told me already.”  

Pietro’s stomach dropped again.  She was telling everyone then.  “She didn’t tell you who the father was?”   

Clint shook his head.  “Nope.  Just that she was knocked up.”  He pushed off the fence and jammed his hands in his pockets, falling in beside Pietro as he walked back towards the complex.  “Figured I’d find you here….You know, as your handler, I’m supposed to know when you switch zip codes.”  

“Sorry…”

“S’cool.  Just.  Call me.  Or text me?  You know…that thing you do when you want to booty text some chick?  Except.  Send it to me.  And you know…not the booty text stuff.  Just a quick ‘going upstate’.  Two words.  All I need, man.”  

Pietro raised his eyebrows.  “So what you’re saying is, you want me to booty call you.”  

Clint sighed.  “Yeah.  Very good.  That’s _exactly_ what I said.”  

He chuckled. “Alright. Not sure how much fun I’m going to have with an old man, but alright.”  Pietro shrugged his shoulder out of the way, preemptively dodging Clint’s fist when the archer took a half-hearted swing at him.

“Dude, I’m a catch. Ask Laura.  I’m downright _delightful_. And I’m pretty limber for an ‘old man’.”  

Pietro snorted and shook his head.  “I’ll take your word for it.”  

They walked for a few strides in silence.  The air was cool.  Calming.  

“As much as I hate to ask this… _Do_ you wanna talk about it?”  

“About what?  My _feelings_ ?”  Pietro shifted his shoes to his other hand.  His feet were getting wet in the grass.  Just one more thing to distract him.  He was trying to convince himself to put it all out there.  To hold out his hand and hope that Darcy would take it.  But he wasn’t going to convince himself to do _anything_ until he had dry socks.  

So, socks, food, shoes, _then_ run.  

“Yeah.  If you want.  Kind of part of my job description,” Clint offered.  

And it was _technically_ part of his unofficial job description.  It wasn’t that Clint had been appointed by S.H.I.E.L.D as Pietro’s handler, but they’d kind of fallen into a weird sort of relationship.  Wanda had Natasha.  And Pietro had Clint.  And as much as he gave him hell, Pietro was thankful for Barton’s guidance.   Most of the time.

“I thought that was my therapist’s job description,”  Pietro retorted.  

“Do you want me to call your therapist?” he asked.  It was vaguely threatening.  Because it was the last thing Pietro wanted and Clint knew it.    

Pietro snorted. “Fuck no.  I don’t have time to go sit in absolute silence on a couch for an hour.”  He wasn’t exactly what one would call a model therapy patient.  The only reason he went to his monthly meeting was to placate Wanda, who really seemed to benefit from her time on the couch and thought that everyone else needed to get their heads shrunk as well.  

“So, you can either tell me what’s going on, or you can sit down and tell Dr.  Holloway exactly why you’re so torn up about the girl who’s not your girl, but who you want to be your girl’s little pear-shaped problem.”  

Pietro rolled his eyes.  “ _Fine_ .  I suppose the problem isn’t really the ‘pear-shaped’ part of it...I don’t care that she’s pregnant.   I don’t care that it’s not mine.  I don’t care that I _wanted_ it to be.  It’s that none of that _fucking_ matters to me and I’m suddenly ready to settle down with her.  I’m ready to step up and be there for her and I’m not sure she wants me there.”  

Clint raised his eyebrows.  “Whoa. That’s um…heavy.”  

“Yeah.” Heavy was exactly the right word.   

“Pietro…did she explicitly say it wasn’t yours?” Clint peered over at him like he was seeing something that Pietro couldn’t.  Or wouldn’t.  Or that he was trying to lead him to a conclusion. Whatever it was, it was pissing him off.     

“I asked her if she’s told the father yet and she said no.  So unless she’s lying, I’m going to go with it’s not mine,”  Pietro snapped.    

Clint pursed his lips and nodded.  “Yeah.  Yep.  Yeah…that’d be…that’d be what I’d go with too.”  

“And I still want to be with her.  I don’t care if she’s pregnant.  I don’t care _whose_ it is.  I’ll help her raise the baby.  I’ll let it call me ‘Papa’. I don’t care.  I just want to be with her.  But…’  He gestured vaguely.  

“But she locked you out.”  

“She locked me out.”  

“Yeah…That’s a toughie.”  

Pietro hummed in agreement.  The feel of Darcy’s locked door handle sticking in his hand was a pain on par with the thought that there was someone else she’d rather be with than him.  

Clint knew all about it.  Pietro had destroyed approximately sixteen pairs of shoes the day following his one-night-stand with Darcy.  Clint had just taken a seat beside the growing pile of ruined footwear and waited for him to get to the point where he could tell him what happened.  That he’d finally hooked up with her.  That they’d finally—they’d finally _been together_.  It had happened and Pietro had spent most of the night with her, only to be locked out when he slipped back to his place for something to eat.  Like she was waiting for him to leave or something.  

He’d only wanted to grab something to keep his stomach from growling and waking her up.  And he hadn’t wanted to eat her out of house and home.  Regardless of how expensive Pietro actually was, he really _did_ eat a lot.   He didn’t want to put Darcy in a difficult position, so he slipped quietly out of bed and pulled on his pants and went home to make a couple sandwiches.  By the time he’d gotten back, the door was locked.  

She’d locked him out.  

“Have you talked to her about that?  It could have been a misunderstanding,”  Clint offered.    

“I don’t see how. She hasn’t brought it up.”  It stood to reason that Darcy would have said something if she was unhappy with him.    

“Have _you_ brought it up?”  

“No.  Because I’m not in the business of getting hurt.”  

“You know, blisters will callous over.  And then it won’t hurt anymore when your shoes rub on them.”  

“Thank you, Dr. Scholl.  I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. Just in case I want to be come a calloused old foot like you.”  

Clint laughed dryly, “Hold up, Dicksilver…did you just call me an old _foot_?”  

Pietro pressed his ruined shoes into Clint’s chest, leaving them there in the other man’s hands so he could take off towards the complex like he’d originally wanted to.  “If the shoe fits.”  

He didn’t hear Clint’s response, because he was already tugging off his socks and throwing them into the trash in the communal kitchen.  His powers had taken some getting used to, but there were some things that he really didn’t know how he’d ever lived without.  Like ‘noping’ out of uncomfortable situations.  

He opened the fridge door, pulling out the milk and uncapping it.  He took a nice long swig out of the jug.  Hopefully it would satisfy his growling stomach long enough to make a sandwich or something.  

“Use a glass. _P_ _rase  _. Maybe someone else wanted to have some. Without your spit.”

He turned, spying his sister seating herself atop one of the stools at the counter.  She waved her hand, levitating a glass over towards him.  

Pietro glanced into the fridge, noting the second gallon tucked towards the back.  So, instead of accepting the glass, he grabbed a Sharpie off the pad on the fridge door, writing his name on the outside of the plastic jug before sticking it back into the fridge.  

He shrugged, grabbing the glass out of the air and replacing it in the cabinet.  “There’s another one in the back.”  He punctuated his sentence with a belch, smirking in her direction.  

“ _P RASE _,” she repeated.  “Disgusting.”  

He laughed, zipping over to take a seat on the stool beside hers.  “What are you doing here, _ Beruska _?”  

She arched a brow.  “You said you were going for a walk. I believed you.  And that was three days ago.”  

“I _did_ go on a walk,” he protested.  “A long one.”  

She shook her head, a worried expression immediately replacing the snarky one.  “You can’t leave without telling anyone, Pietro.   I worry.  Clint worries… _people_ worry.”  

“I am sorry to make you worry.  It won’t happen again.”  

“Lies,” she accused, staring down at her hands for a few moments.  “So, are you going to tell me what’s bothering you?”  

“Don’t you already know?  Since I can’t keep my ‘damn thoughts’ to myself?”  

She rolled her eyes.  “You’re an idiot, brother-of-mine.”  

He frowned. “Why?  I mean…I know you’re probably right.  But why this time?”  

“You’re bull-headed.  Prideful.  You’re ruining yourself to save face.”  

He groaned.  “Ugh…This again? Wanda…Darcy locked me out of her apartment.  That’s a pretty clear signal.  I’m not going to beg her to like me.  She had me, she obviously wasn’t impressed…”  Even saying it out loud hurt.    

Wanda scoffed.  “How do you know?  You two were friends before all of that business.  Maybe she was scared?  You didn’t touch base with her at all.  You just…pretended nothing happened.  You started flirting with other girls right away.”  

“Just flirting, nothing else!” he argued.  “I just wanted to show her that things could be the same as they were before.  I didn’t want to make it weird for her!”  

“Weird for _her_?  You didn’t want to make it weird for yourself!”

He pressed his lips together.  His prepared retort dying right there.  Because she was right.  He’d taken the easy way out.  He’d let Darcy be the bad guy just to protect himself from the repercussions of what they’d done.  

And now?  

Now he was once again making this about him when it was about Darcy.  It was always about Darcy.  

He’d promised to be there for her, and then he’d turned around and bolted without so much as a word.  If he was a betting man, he’d put money down on some of the other reasons Wanda was here.  Maybe just one.  One of the other reasons.

No more.  He wasn’t going to think about this in terms how how it affected him. Because this was about his friend.  About the woman he supposedly had very strong feelings for.  The woman he was head over heels for.  She needed him.  And he was going to be there.  In whatever capacity she’d take him.  

Wanda smiled, reaching over to squeeze his forearm as she stood up.  “Good choice.”  

“Get out of my head.”  

“Bah.  Think a little more quietly and I wouldn’t be in there.”  She walked over towards the door.  

“Where are you going?” he asked, craning his neck to see out the windows.

“To hold the door for Clint,” she stated, pushing open the door for a very sweaty, very perturbed Clint Barton, who appeared as if on queue.  

“You’ve got some nerve, Maximoff.  Making me carry your garbage…”  he pressed the ruined shoes down into the trash with veracity.  

“Sorry about that.  Listen…since you’re my handler and all, just thought I’d give you a heads up…I’m going back to the city.”  

Clint exhaled loudly, looking back and forth between the twins.  “Well.  Did you at least thank your sister?”  he asked expectantly.  

Pietro smirked.  “Thank you Wanda.”  He wasn’t surprised that this had been a group effort.  He supposed it took a group to get his head out of his ass.

“Yeah.  Well…good…”  He turned towards the fridge, pulling open the door and taking out the same jug of milk Pietro had drank from.  “Might actually teach you some manners yet…” Clint took a large swig from the jug, noticing only belatedly that Pietro had scrawled his name across it.  He took one look at the signature and shrugged before taking another sip.

Pietro’s stomach growled again.  He sighed.  First food.  

So the new plan was food, socks, shoes, then Darcy.   

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prase-Pig (thank you [Antiel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Antiel)!)  
> Beruska-Lady-Bug (term of endearment)...probably a nickname from their childhood. ;) 
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/)!


	5. and once we start the meter clicks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been so long updating this. *hugs* Please don't abandon me. <3
> 
> Okay, I know it feels like I'm dragging this whole thing out. I know it does. But bear with me. 
> 
> Piet and Darcy have to...grow a little before they become parents and this is part of that horrendous growing process. I promise, its all going to come together. ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed, but [Hollyspacey](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hollyspacey/pseuds/Hollyspacey) helped me brainstorm this. 
> 
> Complete with meddling matchmakers, Wanda and Jane. 
> 
> Anywho, enjoy!

“Are you  _ sure _ you can’t come with me to my doctor’s visit?”  Darcy asked, her tone rising at the end of the question, making it a borderline whine.  Fuck borderline.  She was  _ whining _ at her boss/best friend.  “I know it’s not my first one or whatever, but I’d rather if you took me….”

Jane smiled, reaching over to squeeze her hand.  “I can’t today.  Next time, I promise.”  

“Jane…I don’t want to go with Wanda…”  

“What’s wrong with Wanda?” Jane asked, tilting her head quizzically.  “I thought you liked her.”  

“I do, I do…I’m just…”  

“Worried she’s going to catch on that Pietro’s the father?”  

Darcy shrugged.  “I’m still not sure if she can read minds or not.”  

“She doesn’t.  She’s just really good at picking up on body language…I think she reads moods.”  Jane paused and then nodded in a manner that didn’t really reassure Darcy in the slightest. 

Darcy grimaced. “I’m not so sure.  Because last week?  When I was upset about Pietro up and leaving the day after I told him about…you know…me being pregnant?  I hung out with Wanda once.  And by six p.m, that same day, I had a Quicksilver on my doorstep.  So to speak.  He was there and we were watching Cheers on Netflix for four hours again…” She shook her head.  “I think she like…looked in my mind or something.”    

Jane snorted.  “Well, the thing about  _ that _ is—and please don’t take this the wrong way—the only person who doesn’t know how you feel about Pietro  _ is Pietro _ .  You’re kind of obvious. It doesn’t take a mind reader to see it, Darce.”  

“Obvious that I wanted him back here?   _ Specifically _ that? I mean…you have to admit.  That’s a pretty big coincidence…I’m not so obviously thirsty. I mean, I am, but not  _ that _ much.”  

Her friend made a face.  Twisted her mouth and shrugged a little.  “I don’t know…I think you’re really obvious about it, Darce. The thirst is apparent.”  

“She  _ can _ look into minds, though, can’t she?  Tony said something about that.”  

“Yes and no.  I don’t think she does it without permission.”  

Darcy scoffed.  “Oh, so now she does it?  I thought she was ‘just really good at picking up on body language’?” Her sarcastic finger quotes were majestically present, of course. 

Jane sighed, rolling her eyes.  “Okay, full disclosure: I’m not sure what all she can do.  I just know she’s telekinetic.  I’m not so sure about her telepathic abilities.  And she’s not too keen on me poking and prodding her for answers.”  

“Yeeeahhhh…I’m calling to reschedule my appointment.” Darcy pulled out her phone.  

“No, no…don’t do that.  Just…think positive thoughts.  Don’t think about Pietro.  Just think about…I dunno…what do you want most besides him?”  

“To eat without puking my guts out.”  

“Okay, so think about that.  Think about a magic pill that the doctor can give you to make you feel better.”  

Darcy sighed.  “I just want to get to the pickles and ice cream part of pregnancy.  Can I go to there, please?”  

Jane squeezed her hand again, nodding towards the door.  “Wanda’s here.”  

One look at the female Maximoff had Darcy guiltily pushing aside her reservations.  Wanda was her friend.  She’d never do anything to invade her privacy.  Honestly, it was refreshing to have someone who wasn’t clucking over her like a mother hen.  I.E, Jane.  Wanda simply walked beside her on the way to the doctor’s office.  Pointed out a cute dress in a window.  Linked her arm with Darcy’s when they crossed the street.  

Darcy’s OB had an office near Stark Tower. Within walking distance.  She came highly recommended on all the NYC parenting sites.  Not to mention, she accepted her insurance.  Win-win-win.  

Wanda asked her in the elevator if she was supposed to stay in the waiting room or not.  Darcy seriously considered it, but the looming threat of getting her blood drawn made her shake her head and ask her friend to “pretty please come back with me, because I’m a wuss and a half.”    

As it turned out, Wanda was an expert hand-holder.  She was also really great at holding Darcy’s purse when she stepped up on the scale. 

Gilly, the nurse, sucked her teeth when she looked at the numbers, shaking her head.  “Darcy, Darcy, Darcy.  Didn’t you get the memo that you’re supposed to gain weight during your pregnancy?  Not lose it?  Did that get lost in the mail somewhere?  Didya skip that chapter in ‘What to Expect’?”  

Darcy flushed, looking down at her hands.  “I’ve just…I’ve been a little sick lately…and…”  

“Did you try the tricks I gave you last time?  Bananas in tiny pieces?  Saltines?”  

Darcy nodded.  “Yes and yes.  And now I can’t so much as look at a bananular shape without feeling nauseous.”  

Gilly pursed her lips in thought.  “What about crackers?  Do squares make you sick?  Because they come in oyster varieties too.”  

She shrugged.  “Sometimes I can keep them down?”  

Gilly turned towards Wanda.  “Make sure she has some with her all the time.”  She looked back at Darcy, holding out her hand to help her down off the scale.  “You’ve got to find something you can keep down, hon.”  

Darcy sighed.  “You say that like I’m TRYING to puke my guts up all the time.  Like I enjoy it or something.  News flash, Gilly.  I don’t.”  

“I’ll make a note of it in your chart.  You can talk to Dr.  Phillips about it today…”  Gilly led them down the hall to the examination room.  “Even though I don’t think there’s much we can do unless you’re dehydrated…” She opened the door, standing back to allow Wanda to enter.  “Speaking of…” she held out her hand, in it was one of the lovely plastic cups Darcy had to pee into every time she came in here.  “Wanna run down the hall and fill this for me?”  

Darcy smirked.  “Anything for you, Gilly.  Be right back, Wanda.”  

She liked to think she was getting pretty good at this.  At peeing in a cup.  And then, you know, she’d pee all over her hand like she did today.  

She washed her hands.  Dried them on her pants and carried the cup down the hall to the examination room.  Only in an OB office is it common practice to carry cups of your own urine around like it’s the most natural thing in the world to do.  She left the cup in the little metal locker in the hallway.  She knew the lockers were two-way and opened into the lab part of the office, but she also liked to imagine that maybe it was an offering to the little urinalysis elves.  

She was greeted by no folded gown on top of the examination table, which was a relief.  Darcy wasn’t really a fan of laying there in stirrups with a cold speculum up inside her.

Wanda was standing over in the other corner of the room, peering at a scale model of the various stages of gestation.  She turned when Darcy entered, smiling nervously as Darcy hopped up on the exam table, folding her legs up with her.  

“This is all so…”  Wanda gestured vaguely.  “Strange.”  

Darcy frowned.  She wasn’t wrong, she guessed.  “How so?”  

“All of this forced normalcy about one of the most painful things women have to endure…” Wanda shook her head.  “It is almost macabre.”  

“Yeah…I’m trying not to think about that part…” Darcy admitted.  “I figure things will just happen the way they’re going to happen and I can just…wipe my brow and move on…”  

Wanda nodded, her lips pressed tightly together.  

“Or you know.  I’ll have a nervous breakdown a week before my due date,” Darcy laughed nervously.  “Either/Or.”  

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.  You have modern medicine on your side,” Wanda assured her.  “I have yet to see a challenge you haven’t risen to.  I’m sure childbirth will be no different.”  

“It’s not really the birth that I’m worried about,” Darcy admitted.  “It’s more…the  _ child _ part that scares me.  You know.  Doing it alone.  Just me and the kid…” She bit her lip hard to stop talking.  

“Darcy…”  Wanda crossed the room, reaching out for her hand.  “You will never be alone.  You know…all of us…we’ll help as much as we can.”  

Darcy smiled, “I know.  I just…it’s scary.  It’s scary and it’s…exciting too. It’s weird.  I’m scared to death one minute, and the next, I’m deliriously happy…” she trailed off, nodding.  “I’m scared, but it’s a good kind of scared.” 

It was kind of a revelation.  One of the first times she’d thought about this as a thing she was doing, and not as a thing she was doing without Pietro.  In fact, she’d barely thought about him at all since she and Wanda had left the tower earlier.  It made her sad, but it made her hopeful too. Maybe she  _ could _ do this.  Maybe this  _ was _ possible.  Maybe the sting of his rejection wasn’t so painful anymore.  

Or maybe she was putting on a brave front so she could hide it from Wanda.  

All her thoughts of independence went out the window a few minutes later, once Dr. Phillips entered the room.  It was painfully apparent how much Pietro was still on her mind.  Given the abnormally large jump she gave when the doctor was pressing that little fetal heartbeat detector onto her belly and said those four fateful words:  “Goodness.  Baby’s active today.”  

Active.  Baby’s active.  

_ Like father, like spawn. _

She jumped, feeling her face heat up immediately.  She stared guiltily at the ceiling until the examination was done.  She sat up and answered questions.  Asked her own.  Barely heard the explanation about something called “Pregnancy Pops” that were supposed to help with morning sickness.  She couldn’t remember whether they were lollipops or popsicles, so she resolved to just go into the drug store and ask a clerk for them.  

She hopped off the table, actively avoiding Wanda’s gaze as they walked out into the hallway.  She made her next appointment for the following month, resolving to tell Jane about it  _ now _ and add it to her calendar so  _ she _ could come with her next time.      

It wasn’t until they were safely out on the sidewalk that Wanda said anything, though.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, handing back Darcy’s purse as they turned to walk down the sidewalk towards the little tea shop where they were having lunch.  Supposedly, the food was light.  She was looking forward to puking it up later.  

Darcy shook her head.  “Nothing.”  

“No…it’s not nothing.  You’ve been acting strange since your doctor was listening to the baby’s heartbeat…” Wanda paused, as if giving Darcy time to say something.  

Nope.  She wasn’t about to say anything.  Not now.  Not ever.  

“Darcy…” She stopped walking, reaching out to touch her arm.  “If you think this is a surprise to me, you’re wrong.  I always kind of thought it might be his.  I can count.  Better than him, at any rate…”  

_ Oh god. _

Darcy turned to face her.  “Wanda, I—”  

She held up her hand, shaking her head.  “You don’t owe me any explanations.  I  _ do _ think you should tell Pietro.  But that’s my opinion.  And this is your business.  Between you two. I’m not here to judge.  Believe me.” 

Relief washed over her.  She reached over to cover Wanda’s hand with hers.   “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.  I just…I thought he should know first and then I decided not to tell him, so then, I couldn’t really tell anyone else and—”  

“Like I said.  It’s not my business.  You are my friend and I want you to be happy.” They stopped walking just outside the tea shop.  “Which…is why I asked Pietro to meet us for lunch.”  

Darcy’s eyes widened.  “What.”  Her gaze darted inside, to where Pietro was currently seated at a table, his leg bouncing rapidly, but otherwise being the picture of calm.  “You did  _ what _ ?”  

“I…” Wanda shrugged.  “I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not.  And before you accuse me of anything, Jane was in on this too.”  

Darcy looked back and forth between where Pietro was sitting and Wanda’s slightly reddened face.  “This reeks of a long con, Maximoff.  How long have you known?”  

“I didn’t lie to you.  I AM better at counting than my brother.  You’re ten weeks along.  Which…if one counts back ten weeks, one would arrive at the night of the Stark Foundation Party…which was the night you two snuck off together…”  Wanda shrugged.  “It is simple math really.  The only people who couldn’t see it would be the ones in denial.” She nodded towards the tea room, implicating Pietro as being one of the ones in denial.  

So…she was off the hook for reading her mind.  But.  Damn, this wasn’t fair, springing this on her like this.  

“You can’t just…force me to tell him if I don’t want to,” Darcy blurted belligerently.  

“No.  I can’t.  But I also can’t sit idly by and let the two of you make a huge mistake either.”  Wanda frowned and looked down.  “Darcy, you  _ have _ to know how Pietro—”  

“THIS is the huge mistake, Wanda.  THIS is the huge mistake…” Tears pricked at her eyes because of fucking COURSE Wanda wouldn’t be able to see Pietro for what he was.  “Look.  He’s the one who—”  

The jingling of bells and the creak of the door interrupted her.  Both she and Wanda looked up to see Pietro standing there beside them on the sidewalk.  “Are you guys coming inside or—?”  He jerked his thumb over his shoulder.  “It’s starting to feel weird, sitting in there alone…”  

Darcy closed her mouth, tried to relax her shoulders.  Even though they tensed back up again when Wanda spoke.  

“I actually was just telling Darcy that I had to go…” Wanda took a step back from them.  “Natasha texted me, moved my training session up because she’s leaving tonight on a mission.”  

“You’d THINK that would be something you could just reschedule.  Given she’s going to be gone for a few days,” Darcy said deliberately, setting her jaw.  It wasn’t that lunch with Pietro would be horrible or anything.  Quite the contrary, in fact.  He was a lot of fun.    

Wanda shrugged, smiling faintly.  “Try telling that to the Black Widow…” She took another step back.  “Why don’t…you guys have lunch, and bring me something back to the tower, eh?”  

_ Wow…look how that worked out.   _

Pietro waved and Wanda took off at a brisk walk back in the opposite direction.  He turned back towards Darcy, jamming his hands in his pockets.  “Lunch?”  

The world’s best excuse occurred to her at that moment.  The Pregnancy Pops.  

“Actually…I’m feeling a little bit queasy.  I’m probably going to make a drug store run for these Pregnancy Pop things that are supposed to help with morning sickness.  I’ll get those and head home to trick my stomach into eating some saltines…”  

“I could go get them for you,” he offered.  “We’ll see if they work, and if they do…we’ll have lunch?”  He looked so hopeful.  

Darcy’s stomach knotted even more.  All these conflicting feelings weren’t helping matters at all.  And he looked  _ really _ good today.  There was a chill in the air, so he was wearing a cable knit sweater in lieu of his usual tracksuit.  He was even wearing blue jeans.  He looked…well, yummy.  And the smell of his cologne wasn’t even turning her stomach.  So he smelled yummy too.  Pretty much like she wanted to take a big bite out of his shoulder.  And maybe other places too.  

“Pietro you don’t have to—”  

“Please?  I want to help. I can hit up all the drug stores and you can just wait here for a few minutes.  Please?  It’s what I’m good at.”  

“Fine…but—”  She was about to stipulate that he had to actually PAY for these things.  She knew how he worked.  She knew about the dresses he’d stolen from the Paris boutiques.  Of course, he was already gone.  

She’d no sooner leaned against a wall than he was back, holding out a brown paper bag with a receipt.  “Second place had them.  I got you two boxes.  And there are actually some drops in there too…in case you didn’t want to suck on lollies all day…” He grinned, obviously proud of himself.   

Her mouth fell open as she looked inside the bag.  Sure enough, there were two boxes of pops and two tins of drops too.  She was set for a while.  “Oh, wow, thanks, Pietro!” She felt those damn traitorous tears pricking her eyelids again. Stupid hormones. She sniffed loudly. “Thank you so much!” she blurted out before bursting into tears.    

“Darcy?” He reached out to gingerly touch her arm. “Did I…did I upset you?”  

“No, no…I’m pregnant.  Hormones…oh my god…” she wailed and he stepped closer, wrapping his arms around her and drawing her close.  “Just…this was so nice, thank you…” She got a mouth full of his sweater when she spoke, her words muffled by his chest and the wool.   

“You’re welcome?” He rubbed her back.  “I promise you, it was no trouble. And I wanted to do it. I  _ wanted _ to help you…if you’d like, I can be your gopher? Hm?  Unless I’m training or on a mission, that is.  But I can run and get things for you?”  

“You don’t have to do that…” Fresh tears poured out onto his sweater.  She was going to ruin it with her blubbering.   

“No, I want to…I want to, Darcy.”  

And she almost told him. Again. Right then.  Poor timing and all.  She pulled back, looked up into his eyes and said, “Pietro?”  

“Hmm?”  

“You are…entirely too nice to me.”  

He chuckled and hugged her back close again.  “Darcy, I haven’t been nice enough.”  

And she sniffled against his shoulder.  Because the only reason she hadn’t told him this time was because she was a coward.  A straight-up, horrible coward.   


	6. and it goes running all through the night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst ahead. Consider this your warning. I was crying while writing it, so be prepared. (It's relationship angst, though, don't worry. Nothing's wrong with baby.) 
> 
> Also, sorry I've been gone so long, guys. Real life is a bitch sometimes, you know? 
> 
> But you all are lovely. And I hope y'all are still reading this. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed, but thank you hollyspacey and janetsnakehole for helping me talk this out earlier today. <3

Pietro was lying in bed, attempting to sleep in when the thought first occurred to him.  It was his day off.  No training.  He wanted to try to get a little extra sleep this morning, but he’d forgotten to turn off his alarm.  

So here he was, laying in bed and having new thoughts occur to him.  

That was a lie, it was a thought that occurred to him at least once a day in the form of a hope or a desperate wish.  But he’d never really thought about it seriously before that moment.  

It was really a matter of pieces falling into place in his brain.  

Three of them to be exact.  Three facts that merely needed to be linked before he could see the truth for what it was.  And after that it was only a single question; five words to cause him to completely self destruct.  

Three facts=one realization.  Five words =One question.

BOOM.

Fact number one:  Darcy was eighteen weeks pregnant.  

He knew this because she’d gone to her four month checkup the week before.  A week late because her doctor had been overbooked.  

That was important. Because of the schedule shift, it had ended up being him who took her to the appointment.  

He hadn’t gone back with her at first, the appointment itself had involved a pelvic exam and her being naked in a paper gown.  Also, she had to pee in a cup, which was a trick, if he was being honest.  But she hadn’t wanted him there for any of that ‘awkwardness’, so he stayed out in the waiting room until one of the nurses came to get him.  

She was dressed again and getting her blood drawn.  Which was the reason why he was there.  To hold her hand and keep her calm for the needle stick.  He didn’t blame her.  He wasn’t overly fond of being stuck with needles himself.  

He clasped her hand in both of his, letting her pull them close to her face, pressed flush against her cheek as they drew what seemed like a lot of blood.  To him at least.  

After it was over, he stroked her hair while her legs got ‘untingley’.  He remembered feeling bad because she was lightheaded.  It didn’t seem to worry the nurses, but Darcy looked a little green around the gills, as they said.  Her face was pale.  Really pale.  

“Just take deep breaths, sweetie, you’ll feel better in a minute.”  

“This is normal?” Pietro asked.  

“It happens…lots of blood shifting around and things happening with the formation of the placenta…Stuff like that…”  the nurse had assured him.  “Calm down, Daddy.  She’ll be okay.”  

And that’s when Darcy really looked sick.  

“He’s not…he’s not…” she murmured softly right before her eyes rolled back in her head.

He didn’t mind being referred to as the father, but Darcy really seemed to be upset by it.  If her passing out was a clue.    

“Uhhh…” Pietro looked up at the nurse.  “I think she fainted?”  

She woke up soon enough, after the nurse had propped her feet up with a pillow.  Nobody brought up his presence again, they were too busy bringing her juice and trying to make sure she was good to walk down the hall to make her next appointment.  

And since nobody brought it back up, Pietro didn’t think about it again.  Not until a week later, when he was trying to sleep in on his day off.  

Which brought him to fact number two:  Eighteen weeks prior was right around the time he and Darcy had slept together.  

It had been the night of the Stark Foundation Party.  And they’d been flirting the whole night.  And he ditched his date for a chance with Darcy.  If he wanted to tell the complete truth, he pushed his date out the door with cash for a cab for a chance with Darcy.  

And then, they’d…they’d done what they’d done.  

But since Darcy hadn’t come forward asking him to step up and put up, he’d naturally assumed there was another man.  Perhaps someone she was involved in before him, which was why she’d locked him out.  She hadn’t wanted it to be messy. Just a one night thing.  

Which was her prerogative.  He was okay with that now.  Well, he wasn’t _okay_ , but the logic was sound and he understood it.  

He knew now his previous assumption that she’d already known she was pregnant when they slept together wasn’t true, but it was entirely possible for birth control to fail. Wanda had said something about antibiotics messing with cycles and with hormonal contraceptives.  That really wasn’t any of his business when it came to Darcy, though.  

And then there was the third and final fact, one that Jane had casually let slip in a conversation with Darcy in the lab.  

He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he’d heard the astrophysicist burst forth with a very classy line in response to something Darcy had said.  

_“What, so one decent fuck — no, let me rephrase — ONE SINGLE FUCK  in the last year is supposed to tide you over for the next eighteen?”_

And he’d excused himself from the room.  Because that sounded again, like something that was none of his business.  

Three facts:  Darcy was eighteen weeks pregnant.  He and Darcy had been together approximately eighteen weeks ago.  And according to Jane, she’d had one single fuck in the last year.

He sat straight up in bed.  

“Oh my god…”  His forehead hurt from the force with which his hand smacked it.  He zipped up to the dresser, rifling around through the drawers for a shirt and pants.  People didn’t generally appreciate him zipping around in his underwear.  

He swore as he paced the room, unsure if he wanted to take this to Wanda just yet.  He said every swear word he could think of, all in succession.  All in one breath.

This was huge.  

“Darcy’s baby is…is my baby.  I’m the father of Darcy’s baby…” The more ways he said it, the more ingrained it became.  And the more stupid he felt for not thinking of it sooner.  

“I’m the father.  I’m going to be a Papa…” he whispered into the nothingness of his room.  

And he felt really good.  REALLY GOOD.  Proud.  Happy.  

He wished a moment later that he’d relished _this_ moment more.  Lived in his happiness, wallowed in it for just a little bit longer.  

Because he had his three facts.  His one realization.  

And then he fucking ripped the rug out from under himself.  

His breath caught in his throat at his next thought.  Tears collecting in the corners of his eyes before he could stop them.  

 _Why didn’t she tell me?_    

* * *

 

“Darcy can we talk?”  

His voice startled her.  She’d been standing there beside Jane, her hand on the small baby bump that was finally starting to show.  To stick out over the top of her yoga pants that she had to wear now because none of her jeans fit her anymore.  Her hips had widened too much.  A normal occurrence, all the books assured her.  

A bunch of bullshit, she assured the books.  

The nurse at her doctor’s office told her she hadn’t even popped yet.  Whatever the hell that meant.

She was about to nod, to tell him she’d be right with him after she got done helping Jane with her calibrations.  Or even make a promise to go down to get coffee with him as soon as she was finished up here.  She was craving one of those chocolate croissants from the bakery down the street.  

But as soon as Darcy looked over at him, she knew she couldn’t put it off.  She needed to go with him now.  

He was chewing on his bottom lip, practically vibrating in place.  His eyes were red.  Like he’d been crying.  And she’d never seen Pietro cry.  

EVER.  

He looked angry.  Upset.  Sad.  Confused.  

She knew.  

He knew.  

God, he knew.  Someone had told him and it wasn’t her.  And now she wasn’t ever going to be able to fix this mess.  Never.  

Her words caught in her throat and all she could do was nod for a few seconds.  “Jane, I gotta go, okay?”  

“Okay…” Jane drawled from her same position, hunched over the control panel.  She was completely dead to anything that wasn’t calibrating this machine.  Darcy sent one of the interns back to help her as she followed Pietro out of the lab and into the hallway.  

He stopped halfway to the elevator, rounding on her.  “It’s mine.  The baby.  It’s mine, isn’t it?”  

She squared her jaw before looking him right in the eye and nodding.  “It is.”

His jaw moved around a little, and he opened his mouth several times before he simply shook his head, turning to continue his walk to the elevator.  

She wasn’t sure if she was welcome to come with him anymore, but she went anyway, figuring that he’d run off if he didn’t want to talk to her anymore.  

He wasn’t running, so neither was she.  

She followed him into the elevator, watched as he angrily smashed his thumb against the panel.  

“That’s why you were so upset at your doctor’s visit…” he stated, staring at the touch pad. It almost looked like he was addressing it and not her.  “Because you were worried I’d find out.”  

“No,” she said firmly.  “That’s not why at all.”  

“Then wh—”  He stopped abruptly again as the door opened out into the floor where Pietro’s apartment was.  He had half the floor, and Wanda had the other half.  

He was still walking, even though his hands were clenching and he looked like he didn’t want to do anything else other than zip off and run.  He wasn’t.  He was walking slowly enough for her to keep up.  

And she had to give him props for that.  

He opened the door to his apartment, he held it for her to follow.  

Once it closed, she wrapped her arms around herself.  

He started zipping around the room then.  A blur in a green t-shirt.  

He stopped in front of her.  “Why didn’t you tell me?”  It was quiet.  His tone, it was so quiet.  

She opened her mouth to answer him, but he didn’t give her a chance to.  

“Is it because you think I’d be a shitty father?”

“Pietro…”  

“No…tell me.  Tell me.  I can handle it.  I’d be a shitty father?  I’m too young…too arrogant?  Too…” he paused, obviously searching for the word.  “Too fucking MUCH? Huh?”  

Darcy pressed her lips together.  “If you’d let me—”  

“You think I wouldn’t care?  You think I wouldn’t want to be there for the baby? That I just would…what…ignore it?”  

Darcy felt tears start to gather in the corners of her eyes.  She cried about fucking everything these days, so she’d been expecting this to happen.  “Let me TALK.”  The last word came out a little more screechy than she’d intended, but he shut up, his eyes widening.  She didn’t care.  Her throat hurt from holding back tears.  She took a deep breath, wiping at the corner of her eyes to stem the flow.  “No.  Pietro, I don’t think you’d be a bad father.  I don’t think that.   You give me far too much credit, if I’m being completely honest.”  

He frowned, obviously confused, but she raised her hand up.  “Listen.  You asked.  You asked why I didn’t tell you, and I’mma tell you why.  Okay?”

He nodded.  

“Okay.  I didn’t tell you because…” she trailed off, looking down at her hands.  “I didn’t tell you because I know you, Piet.  I know you.  And you’re a little bit of a fuckboy…I mean…lifestyle-wise…”  

His brow furrowed and his mouth opened, but her hand was back.  Up in the air and stopping him.  

“You’re a little bit of a fuckboy, but deep down…” She gestured to her heart.  “Deep down, you’re a good guy.  You’re decent.  And like it or not, you’re a little like Steve in that you always want to do the right thing.  Your methods are a little chaotic, but you know…not everyone can be lawful good…chaotic good exists and it’s you, Piet.  You’re a good guy underneath all of that smugness and arrogance.  And I can see it…it’s one of the things I lo—like about you.  I like that about you…”  

She sank her teeth into her bottom lip for a split second, chastising herself for almost saying the one thing she didn’t want to bring into this discussion.  

This wasn’t about her feelings.  This was about him.  He was upset and he deserved an explanation.  

“You’re a good guy and I was worried you’d do something you’d regret in your quest to ‘do the right thing’™” she smirked half-heartedly before it fell from her face.  

“Something I’d regret?” he frowned even deeper.  “I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying…”  

She sighed, feeling her eyes close for a second.  “You aren’t the…settling down type, Pietro. I was worried you’d force it because you thought it was right.”  

He still didn’t look like he got it.  He was staring at her like she was wearing a straight jacket and had just told him Donald Trump had gotten elected president or something.  (Because that would have been crazy.)  

“I just don’t want you to wake up in a few years and regret your life…or to resent me or…” She looked down at her belly.  “And I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.  I should have.  I just…I should have told you.  You should have heard it from me.  And I’m sorry you didn’t.”     

Darcy had to take a step back from him then.  The room was too hot and her stomach was growling.

If past experience was any indicator, she had about ten minutes to procure nourishment for the spawn, before it enacted operation ‘everything must go’. It was weird.  Ever since she’d crossed into her second trimester, it wasn’t like the morning sickness went away, the rules just got more convoluted.  She threw up if she hadn’t eaten anything.  She threw up if the ate the wrong thing…it was a mess.  She was a mess.  

The hot tears running down her cheeks were proof of that.  

And Pietro was just standing there, staring at her.  He hadn’t spoken.  

“And that’s why I didn’t tell you…” she said, blinking rapidly to quell the flow of tears down her cheeks, but it didn’t do any good.  She sniffed loudly and jerked her thumb over her shoulder.  “I’m gonna go…need to go…see a lady about a croissant…”  

She turned and made for the door.  

And he didn’t stop her.  

She wasn’t sure which would have hurt more.  If he had stopped her or that he didn’t.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love you guys. Be kind, leave me comments. Tell me how you're feeling. Your tears nourish my muse. 
> 
> (No, but seriously. ;) I love your comments.)


	7. until it ends, there is no end

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And the author said, let there be resolution! 
> 
> Fluff and talking. Talking and fluff in this chapter. I think we all need some fluff. 
> 
> Also, notice new chapter titles. Lyrics from "All through the night" (Originally by Cyndi Lauper, but I'm using the version by Sleeping at Last)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed. Because that's how I roll.

He wanted to run.  

Like he’d never wanted to run before in his life.  

This was almost worse than being back in the Hydra complex.  

At least here, he _could_ go somewhere if he wanted.  And that was the thought he latched onto.  

Because Pietro couldn’t run from this.  Not anymore.  And he couldn’t run to Wanda or Clint either.  This was something he had to figure out on his own.  

He had to be more mature.  This wasn’t just about him and his feelings and what _he_ wanted.  This was about Darcy. And the baby.  And yes, him too.  But he had to prioritize.  He had to put her first.  Because they had to be together to figure this out.  This was fixable.  All was not lost.  If he could just find the right combination of actions, he could fix things with Darcy.  And they’d…they’d be together.  

He had to prove to her that he loved her. That he loved her _before_ she was pregnant with his child.  Before.  When he’d thought the baby was someone else’s.  He’d have given anything to be with her.  And he still would.  

But he couldn’t prove _anything_ to her if she wasn’t with him.  

He zipped to the door.  She’d only been gone for about twenty minutes.  It was possible she was still in the building.

He looked all over, running from floor to floor and hanging out in the elevator in between.  He was about to give up when he decided to try one more place.    

As it turned out, he was right.  She hadn’t gone out at all, she’d gone two floors down to the floor of the tower that she shared with Jane and Thor.  

She was in her apartment.  

Pietro knocked on her door, recalling like he always did, the night when she’d locked him out.  

He needed to know why.  But that wasn’t for today.  

Another day.   

She opened the door.  Her face was pale; her eyes were bloodshot from crying.  She let out a sound when she saw him.  Halfway between a sigh of relief and a sob.   It made him want to hold her and never let go.  Stroke her hair until her tears had dried.   

“I shouldn’t have let you leave, Darcy…” he murmured, stepping forward and folding her up in his arms.  “I’m so sorry…”  He pushed the door shut with his foot.

“No, no,”  She shook her head as he held her close. He felt her tears drip down onto his shirt.  “I’m sorry. Pietro, oh my god, I’m horrible.  I’m the worst.  I should have told you.  I’m so…so… _selfish_ …” The last word was a gasp, barely audible before she dissolved into hiccuping tears again.  

“Shhh, Darcy…” He felt her knees collapse, so he went down with her, cushioning her as they both ended up on the floor of her entryway.  He pulled her closer, leaning back against her front door.  “Darcy, you’re not horrible.”  

“I…am…too…” she sobbed.   

“Shhh…” He rubbed her back, belatedly realizing that this was probably more upset than she needed to be in her…condition.  He pressed his head down onto her shoulder. He murmured into her ear.  Calming things.  Or at least, he hoped they were calming.  “Darcy — _princeza_ — don’t be upset.  I’m here with you.  I’m not going anywhere and you’re not horrible; I won’t let you say those things about yourself.  You’re not selfish.  You’re human and so am I.”  Her body wracked against him and he quickly changed tactics.  “You’ve got to calm down, _princeza._  We do need to talk but right now, you need to calm down.  You’re going to cry that baby right out.”  

She quieted for a moment, nodding her head and taking several deep breaths, her head still pressed against his shirt.  “That’s not how pregnancy works.”  

“I know that.  I just needed you to stop crying…”  He looked down at her, wiping her tears with his thumbs and smiling slightly, trying to coax one out of her.  He pulled her closer, intending to kiss her, but she pulled back.  

“No.  You cannot kiss me after I was just ugly-crying on you.  I’m all snotty.”  

“I don’t care…I just want to kiss you.  I’ve wanted to kiss you for weeks…”  

She pressed her lips together in a line before responding.   “That why you were flirting with anything with boobs?”  She arched her eyebrow.  “Because you wanted to kiss _me_?”  

He swallowed, “I thought you didn’t want me…”  

“And I didn’t.  After you left in the middle of the night.”  

“I didn’t leave in the middle of the night! _You_ locked me out!”  

So much for waiting.  He supposed maybe it was all better out than in?  Hopefully?

“Because you left!  Like, I know how you are, Pietro.  I know, but _god_.  We were friends!  That was so cold!”  

“I was hungry!” he argued weakly.   

She looked surprised.  “You were HUNGRY?”  

“Yes, I get hungry a _lot_ …I went home to make a sandwich.  And then I come back, you lock me out.  You must have been waiting for me to leave…I was only gone for ten minutes.”

“I woke up, the bed was cold. I figured you’d scampered off while I was asleep, so I got up and locked the door.  I live alone.  Fucking sue me.”  

“You live alone in Avengers Tower,” Pietro scoffed.  “Surrounded by superheros.”  

“Right.  RIGHT?  Surrounded by targets, more like.  What if some Hydra agent broke in?  Huh?  Waltzed into my apartment and Nazi-murdered me in my bed?”  

“You think a dead bolt’s going to keep out a Hydra agent?” Pietro snapped back, regretting it immediately when her chin started wobbling again.  He couldn’t bear for her to cry.  “No…no, Darcy.  I’m sorry…I didn’t…please don’t cry.”  

“If I’d known you were coming back, I wouldn’t have locked the door,” she said, sniffing loudly and struggling to a kneeling position.  Pietro held out his hand to help her rise, even though she waved him away at first.  “You didn’t tell me you were leaving…if you’d told me…I could have…I dunno.  Made you a sandwich here.”  She ducked into the bathroom and came out with a roll of toilet paper, winding some around her hand and blowing her nose.  

“Have you _seen_ one of my sandwiches?” he asked.  “I didn’t want to eat you out of house and home…”  

“Didn’t seem to have trouble eating me _out,_ ” she muttered, stopping deliberately in the middle of the phrase and making him blush.  “So it was ‘of house and home’ that was the issue. I see.”  

He smirked.  “No…none of _that_ was any trouble.”  

“It was just my stupid ass jumping to the wrong conclusion, then…” She unrolled more and dabbed at her eyes before blowing her nose again.  “Figures.”  

“You aren’t stupid. I could have told you where I was going…or left a note…”  

“Or, I dunno… _knocked_?”  

“Yes.  I could have knocked.  Or asked you about it the next day.  Or called you.  Or not flirted with everything with boobs.”  

She shrugged.  “I don’t wanna tell you how to live your life or anything…”  She walked over to open the fridge, but he made sure he was there before her.

“What do you need? Water? Something else?  A snack?  Let me get it for you,” he pleaded.    

“I was going to make something for lunch…”

“What do you want?  I’ll make it.”  

She laughed softly, “Pietro, I’m capable of making a sandwich…”  

“I know you are, but I have eighteen weeks of pampering to make up for, so I’d like to make it for you.  If you don’t mind, that is.”

“I have crazy demands, it’s probably just easier for me to make it.”  

Pietro crossed his arms over his chest.  “Try me.  I love a challenge.”   

She laughed, shaking her head as she made her way back to her seat. “Okay. You have to get out the roast beef, but when you open it, don’t leave the bag open after you pull it out or the smell will make me sick.  There’s pastrami in the same bag and I can’t stand the smell of it.”  

“So…maybe you shouldn’t buy pastrami?”  He asked, pulling the roast beef out of the fridge.  

“Well, I like the taste the pastrami leaves on the roast beef.  I just don’t like pastrami or the smell of it.”  

“Okaaay…” He yanked out a few slices of roast beef and zipped the bag quickly afterward, turning towards her to check and make sure he did it right.  She nodded and he reached for the baguette in the bread box.  “Do you want cheese?”  

“I want banana peppers and cranberry sauce…and mayo…and lettuce…” She gestured towards the fridge.  “Cranberry sauce is in the Tupperware in the door.”  

He frowned and pulled out the items she requested, shaking his head as he assembled what looked like an absolutely terrible sandwich.  “No cheese?”  

“There’s a block of cheddar in the drawer in the fridge, I want some of that on the side with the brown mustard.  Also on the side.”  

“So…you’re having the weird pregnancy cravings?”  he asked, gesturing to the cheese he’d just sliced. As fast as he could without cutting himself. “Cheese and mustard?”  

She snorted.  “Dude, the sandwich is totes the little peanut talking.  But cheese and mustard?   I’ve always eaten that.”

“The little peanut?” he repeated, smiling as he brought the plate over to her.  “Is that what you’re calling the baby?”  

“Well, I’ve been calling the baby that since I found out, but they’re actually more of a little bell pepper right now.  Size-wise.”  She gestured towards the red ones she had in a bowl on her counter top.  

Pietro reached over to pick one up, looking between it and Darcy’s slightly round tummy.  “What a beautiful little bell pepper we have.”  

She smiled, chuckling under her breath.  “You’re adorable.”  

He preened a little, leaning over on his elbow.  “Adorable enough to kiss you?”  

“Piet…” she popped a piece of cheese into her mouth.  “Are we really done talking here?”  

“I thought maybe…” he began, but saw the look on her face and backtracked, “Maybe we should talk more.” She took a bite of the sandwich, chewing slowly and starting to rise again.  He put his hand on her arm.  “What do you need?”  

“Milk?” She mimed drinking with her hand and he zipped over to the fridge to get it for her.  He walked the glass over, though.  So he wouldn’t spill it.  She took a sip before she spoke again.  “Piet, how do we fix this?”  

“Fix what?  There was a misunderstanding, we sorted it out…”  

“I lied to you,” she said bluntly.  “There’s no way you’re okay with that.”  

She was right.  It stung.  He wasn’t okay with it.  

He took a deep breath.  “No, I’m not okay with that.  But, I think in time…”  

“You’re blinded by the fact that I’m carrying your baby.  There’s no way you’d give me another chance if I wasn’t.”  It was almost an accusation.    

“Don’t put words in my mouth, please Darcy…” He took a deep breath and looked up at her, catching and holding her gaze.  “I’d give you all the chances.  I’m in _love_ with you, Darcy.”

She made a sound in the back of her throat and her hand flew up to her face, covering her mouth.  

“I want _you_ . I wanted you _before_ that night. You were all I thought about.  I dropped everything when I thought you were interested.  Darcy… I wanted you when I thought that you were having someone else’s baby.  I wanted to help raise them.  I wanted to be a Papa.  And I wanted to be with _you_ . I still want to be with you. It’s always been about you, my _princeza._ ”

“But then I lied to you…” she said, her face falling as two tears dripped down her cheeks.  

“You did…” He reached up to wipe them away.  “But I lied to you too.”  

“But my lie was bigger.”  

“A lie is a lie. I lied with my actions to save my fragile ego.  You lied by omission because you wanted to spare yourself a broken heart on top of being pregnant and scared. I think there’s a clear worse one in this picture.”       

“Mine was a little ego driven too…”  

He shrugged.  “So we’re even if anything.”  He reached for her hand, pressing it to his lips. “I just want to stop all the nonsense and get to the part where I can love you and take care of you…we don’t have a lot of time here.”

“But we can’t rush this either.  We DO have a lot of time here.  We’re going to have to be at least civil to one another for the next eighteen years, four months and two weeks, give or take…”  

He took a deep breath, realizing just what was happening here.  The full realization that this wasn’t just another relationship that he could coast through.  This was the real deal.  And while he’d always kind of known that he wanted the real deal with Darcy…it was all beginning _now_.  

“Okay…we won’t rush it,” he agreed.    

Darcy reached for his hand.  “Thank you. I’m sorry…I just want to do this right, you know?”  

He nodded, squeezing her hand tightly in his.  “I do too. Do not apologize. I’d rather do this right now.”  He took her empty plate, rinsing it under the faucet before turning back to face her.  “So…where does that leave us now?”  

Darcy bit her bottom lip while she thought.  “Well, we could keep doing what we’ve been doing — hanging out, watching Netflix…”  

“Okay.”   

“And when more happens, it happens.”  

“What about your doctor’s appointments? Can I come with you to those?” he asked tentatively, moving closer, not wanting to overwhelm her.    

“You’d want to? It’s a bunch of medical stuff…speculums…ultrasound…”   

His face lit up.  “Ultrasound?  Would we see the baby?”  

“Yes. I actually have one scheduled for next week.  We can find out the gender…if you want to?”  

His stomach rolled with excitement.  “Do _you_ want to?”  

“Kinda…” She grinned widely.  “Wanna start buying stuff.”  She rubbed her hand over her belly, pausing for a moment before she reached for his hand as well, pressing it down against her.  

He gulped and straightened his back.  “Can you feel them move yet?”  

She shook her head.  “No, not yet. I’ll let you know when I do, though.  I’ll probably take out a billboard or something…I’m so excited.”  

He grinned, rubbing his hand over her.  

“The baby _can_ hear you, though…if you want to talk?”  

“Okay,” he nodded, looking down at her belly, still covered by the purple tank top.  

“Let me go sit out on the couch and then you can talk all you want.”  

So she did.  And he did.  He talked.  He talked so damn much.  Some of it in Sokovian.  Some in English.  He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say to his child, but a lot of things came tumbling out, so he just went with it.  

He paused for a moment, looking up at Darcy from where he was hunched over her belly.  “So what are we?”  

Darcy bit her lip and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. He very nearly melted down into the sofa cushions.  “We…we’re together?”  

“Together.  Okay.  We’re together.”  

“And you love me…” she said slowly.

He smiled.  “I do.  I love you, Darcy.”  

“I love you too,” she whispered, barely audible.

To be honest, that was better than anything else.  Pietro’s heart steadied and he lay his head in her lap, still murmuring things to the baby.  Lovely things.  Only lovely things.  

His child would only know lovely things.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like...they aren't...fixed. But they're on the road to being fixed. Right? 
> 
> Also notice. Fic's not over. 
> 
> Just know that I love you all. And I love Darcy and Pietro and nothing too terrible is going to happen.


	8. oh the sleep in your eyes is enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to be so long on the updates, guyssss, thanks for sticking with me! 
> 
> No gender reveal yet. That's either going to be chapter 9 or 10, hopefully 9. ;) 
> 
> There's some slightly smutty behavior in this chapter, not much, though. 
> 
> Special thanks to amidtheflowers for helping me talk through this next bit (it's going to encompass at least two more chapters, and I was so stuck until I talked to her. AMAZING, thank you, doll!)
> 
> This marks maybe the halfway point? I'm thinking 14 or 15 chapters total here? So. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed. You know the drill. <3
> 
> Also, some second trimester stuff. Did you know that a lot of pregnant people get horny af during their second trimester? Something to do with increased blood flow to the vajayjay and increased energy. (First trimester will hand your ass back to ya, lemme tell ya). Not all pregnant people feel this, mind you. BUT, it's still something that can happen.

Darcy clicked the pen a few more times, staring at the screen saver on her desktop, trying to think about something.   _Anything_ other than what she was currently thinking about.  

Which was finding her super-speedy dude, her one-night-stand turned baby daddy turned boyfriend, and climb him like a tree.  

He’d spent the night at her place for the past few evenings.  And while they’d kissed a little, it was nothing too heated. Mostly sweet, chaste little pecks on the lips.  And that had been fine.  They were taking things slowly, trying to build a relationship.  All that jazz.  

He’d come to her place after training or doing whatever other miscellaneous things a superhero did on a daily basis, and they’d snuggle on the couch.  He’d bring her snacks, rub her feet, talk to her belly.  And then they’d go to bed.  He’d get up in the morning before her, leaving the bathroom foggy and damp after his shower, and go on his merry way.  

And that had been nice for the weekend.  

But come Monday morning (that morning), Darcy had awoken, rolled over to his side of the bed to sniff his pillow like she usually did, and gotten so completely and unbelievably turned on that she couldn’t stand it.  Everything from the way the shower hit her skin to the way the towel felt on it afterward did nothing to quell the burn deep in her belly.  The one that she normally only got while flirting or fooling around with someone who knew what they were doing.  

But the thing was?  Pietro wasn’t there to have worked her up like this. She woke up and Hello Hormones.  Hello Sensitive Boobies! That annoying ache in her chest from the first trimester had turned into a different kind of ache, one that made putting her bra on a religious experience.  Oh, and hello sensitive other places!  

She wasn’t sure how to fix the issue (other than the obvious), so she just went to work on the off chance that she’d find something there to keep her occupied.  

But nope.  No such luck  All she could think about was _dick_ .  Specifically, _Pietro’s dick_ .  Specifically, Pietro’s dick _inside her_.

She clicked the pen again, the sound was at the very least a constant.  Something she could grab onto.  

“Darcy.  Go home already,” Jane said, turning in her swivel chair to face her.  “Call Pietro and go home.”   

Okay, so Jane had gotten an earful that morning.  All the TMI things that had been happening with her since she woke up, and Jane got to hear them all.  She deserved an award for being such an awesome bestie.  Or at the very least?  Lunch.  

“I can’t just _call Pietro_ , Jane.  What would I even say to him?”  

Jane mimed picking up her phone.  “Hey, Pietro.  Remember that thing you did to put this baby in me?  Do you mind doing it again?”  

Darcy snorted.  “To be honest, that would probably work.  I just…can’t really imagine asking him for that when I made such a big deal about us waiting and taking our time…”  

“He’s the one who said to call if you needed anything. I think sexual favors fall under the umbrella of ‘anything’.  Besides, if you don’t, I’m about to.  Because you are driving me nuts with the pen clicking.”  

She tossed the pen on her desk, chewing thoughtfully on her lip for a moment.  “What do _you_ think?” Darcy asked.  

“About what?  About you sleeping with the father of your child?”  Jane shrugged. “I don’t know…maybe it’s a little risque, but you know how old-fashioned I am.”  

Darcy blew a raspberry in Jane’s direction.  “You’re a real smart-ass, you know that, Foster?”  

“Darce…you can’t treat this like a normal situation, because you’re not in a normal situation.  This is important, it’s absolutely important, but you guys kind of have to play it by ear.  Don’t worry about doing things out of order, because you’re kind of all over the place.”  Jane scooted over towards her desk, scooting her phone towards her.  “Now message him, so you can talk to him about this.  Because our conversation is failing the Bechdel test.”

Darcy smirked and grabbed her phone to shoot off a text to Pietro.  She contemplated just sending him the eggplant emoji, but she figured he deserved more than that.    “ _Piet, when are you done for the day?  Kinda had some stuff I wanted to talk to you about.  Urgent, but not dangerous urgent.  Just kind of…urgent frustration.  Anyway, call me or text me when you get this. <3”   _

She looked back up at Jane again.  “How is the research on that new star cluster coming along?”  

Jane’s face lit up.  “Oh, it’s going great!  I counted about thirty possible stars in the cluster, it kind of looks like a raspberry, with all the red dwarf stars in it?  So that’s what I’m calling it.  The Raspberry Cluster.”  

“Oh awesome, A+ choice of a name.”  

“Speaking of names….” Jane propped her head up on Darcy’s desk.  “Have you thought of any for the spawn?”  

“You know…this is _really_ embarrassing, but I was gonna go with ‘The Raspberry Cluster’, too?  And since you’re already using it, I’ll have to keep thinking.”  

Jane grinned and reached over to pat her hand. “Maybe after you find out the gender?”  

Darcy couldn’t hold back her own smile as she nodded.  “Yeah, I think I might have a few more ideas after that.”  Her hand went automatically down to her belly, smoothing her hand over the stretched out t-shirt she was wearing.  “Might need to bite the bullet and go buy some maternity wear…’  

“You probably will.  You’re only going to get bigger.”  

“Thanks, Janey.  Really making me feel awesome.”  

Jane rolled her eyes.  “You’re adorable and you know it, so don’t even try to pretend you don’t.”  

Her phone chose that moment to buzz, so she reached over to pick it up again.  As expected, a text from Pietro.  

_“I’m about an hour from being finished up here. Can your urgent frustration wait that long?”_

She smirked at the screen, and quickly swyped out a response.  

_“I suppose.  It’s waited all morning, what’s one more hour? ;) “_

He texted her back almost immediately.  

_“What’s with the winky face? ;) “_

She responded quickly, “ _Guess you’ll have to wait an hour to find out.”_

He was super-fast at texting, unsurprisingly.  “ _Now I’M frustrated.”_

She snickered and put the phone in her back pocket, grabbing her purse and taking a few steps towards the door of the lab.  

“Booty call from your baby daddy?” Jane called after her.  

“HA, no.  And never use either of those terms again.  I’m just admitting defeat and go home.”  

“Is he not available?”  

“Not for an hour.  But you know as well as I do that I’m as good as useless…”   

Jane stood up to give her a quick hug.  “Well have fun, call me later, you know…once you’ve gotten it out of your system.”  

“Yep, definitely.”  

* * *

 

Pietro zipped from the elevator down to Darcy’s apartment.  He rapped on the door, leaning against the frame as she opened it.  

“You know, you don’t have to knock, right?  I’ll get you a keycard?”  She reached for him, tugging him into her apartment.  Her hand was clenching his shirt rather tightly.  

He leaned down, wrapping his arms around her.  He pressed his face into her hair and inhaled deeply.  He tilted his head slightly, pressing his lips against her throat.  

He felt the shiver that went through her, the way she arched against his body.  The soft sigh that escaped her lips.  He liked the reaction, so he repeated the gesture.  

She grasped handfuls of his shirt, looking up at him before she found his lips.  Pietro felt her tongue prodding against his lips, begging entrance.  He opened his mouth only slightly, moaning as he felt her tongue slide in.  

Darcy broke off the kiss, cheeks red and eyes dilated.  She blinked at him, licking her lips.  “Okay, look…I know we were going to take things slowly?  Right?”  

“Right?”  He could still feel her lips on his, the heat in her kiss.  The heat in her eyes afterward.

“I’m sorry…but…I need…” Her hands slid down his back, down further to cup his ass, giving it a good hard squeeze.  “I’ve got some crazy hormones going on right now and all I can think about is you…”  

He felt a smile slowly spread across his face.  Clint would probably call it a ‘shit-eating-grin’.  He preened, realizing just what kind of frustration Darcy was talking about earlier.  “All you can think about is me?”  

She nodded, her gaze moving from his eyes to his lips, licking her own.  

“What am I doing in these thoughts?”  

She huffed out a laugh, shaking her head.  “You are so predictable, I swear...”  

He shrugged, “I don’t really care if I am, because I attracted _you_.  And that is all that matters.  I need to know what I’m doing in that dirty little mind of yours, so I can deliver on your fantasies…”  

She reached down to grab his hand, tugging him back to the bedroom.  “You pretty much _are_ my fantasies, so you won’t have to try very hard…”

He followed where she pulled him, hell bent on pleasing her for as long as she wanted him to.  She turned, wrapping her arms around his neck as she sealed her lips over his again.  

Pietro walked them closer to the bed, pressing her back on top of her duvet.  He bent one knee and leaned over her, trying to take his time, no matter how much she was tugging on his shirt.  He sat back, pulling it up and over his head, chuckling as she made grabby hands at him.  

He leaned back down, trying not to give into her moaning as she raked her fingernails over his chest.  As if the action gave her as much pleasure as it gave him.  And there was no way that was true.  

He rucked up her t-shirt, along with the tank top she’d layered underneath, letting his hands slide up her rounded belly.  His breath caught in his throat.  He certainly noticed the change in her figure.  And it wasn’t a bad change at all. He couldn’t wait to get her clothes off.  To see the way she’d filled out since the last time he’d been with her.  

It was some kind of primal feeling, he assumed.  Being turned on by her fuller frame, and knowing it was because of him that she was so _full._  Or maybe it was just that it was Darcy.  He’d never really know, because he couldn’t think of anyone like he thought about her. She was special.  She was different. And none of it mattered. 

Darcy was beautiful anyway, with her hourglass shape and her…her breasts.  But Pietro wasn’t blind.  He certainly had noticed the way they seemed to nearly pop out of her blouses lately.  He ran his hand up her body, until he’d reached her chest.  He cupped her in his hands, moaning softly at the weight.  She arched into his touch, almost whimpering as he ran his thumb over the outline of her nipple.  It was a stark and stiff relief even beneath two shirts and her bra.  Her hips bucked up towards him with every swipe, making him very curious as to how she’d react with him sucking it between his lips.  Flicking it with his tongue.  

He’d remembered her as a very responsive lover, but this was astoundingly different.

He began peeling off her clothing, one layer at a time, first her t-shirt was thrown to the floor and he went back to his gentle teasing.  Teasing that was seemingly working her up even more.  

He was tugging impatiently at the hem of her tank top when she stopped him.  

“Wait…” she whispered, breathless.  

He moved his hand immediately, pushing up to balance over her.  “Did I hurt you?”  

“No…no…” she smiled warmly, pulling him down for a kiss.  “No, let me just call the doctor and make sure this is okay?”  

His breath caught in his throat, and he nodded.  “Of course…”  he rolled over, and she curled up in his arms with her phone.  

She dialed the doctor, waiting a few seconds before pressing a couple of buttons on the keypad.  

She turned on the speaker phone function, laying it flat on his chest as she snuggled up into his arms.  

“What’s this?  They’ve got you on hold?”  he asked.  

Darcy nodded.  “She’s a popular OB, she has a lot of patients.”  

He shrugged and stroked her back, happy for the time he got to spend with her, even if it was on hold with her doctor.  

It took about eight minutes or so, he jumped when he heard the woman answer.  

“Hello?” the doctor asked.  “This is Dr. Phillips.”  

“Hey Dr. Phillips, it’s Darcy.  Lewis.”

“Hello, Darcy.  What can I do for you?”  

“Hey, I was just wondering.  You know…the father of the baby and me…we’re…together again?”  

“Congratulations.”  

Darcy smiled.  “Thanks.  Well, we’re together again and I was wondering if it was okay to have sex.”  

Pietro was kind of surprised by the blatancy of his girlfriend, but then again, it was Darcy.  Right down to brass tacks.  

“Of course, sex is absolutely fine during pregnancy, as long as you feel up to it.  As always, be sure and call if you have any cramps in your lower back or abdomen, or if you start spotting blood.”  

“Right, of course…” Darcy trailed off.  “And it’s still okay if he’s enhanced?”  

“Enhanced?  I’m not sure what you mean…”  

“Enhanced.  He’s…” she glanced over at Pietro, arching her eyebrow quizzically, as if to ask if it was alright to give out his identity.  He nodded his assent.  “He’s Pietro Maximoff.  You know.  Quicksilver?  I just wanted to make sure everything would be okay.  As long as—”  

“I’m sorry to interrupt you, but are you telling me that the father of your baby is Pietro Maximoff?  An Avenger?”  

“Um…yes?”  

“Have you always known this?”  

Darcy frowned.  “Yes?  He’s the only guy I’ve slept with in the past year…”  

“Okay, I am going to have to ask you to disregard everything I’ve said.  I’m no longer capable of giving you prenatal advice.  Or care, for that matter.”  The doctor’s voice sounded panicked.  Like the voice of someone trying to cover their ass.

“What?” Darcy frowned, sitting up in bed.  Pietro sat up too, reaching for the phone.  She scooted away from him and got up. He zipped over in front of her.  “I’m sorry, but are you… _firing me_ , Dr. Phillips?”  

“I don’t have the necessary malpractice insurance to cover the birth of a possibly enhanced child.  I can’t see you as a patient any longer, Ms. Lewis.”  

“What am I supposed to do?” she asked.  “Do you have any recommendations for doctors who _can_ see me as a patient?”  

“There’s no one I know of.  If I were you, I’d ask your boyfriend to ask his boss.  I’ll have my receptionist email you the necessary paperwork first thing tomorrow morning.  I wish you the best of luck.”

The call ended.  

Darcy blinked down at the phone, her hand shaking slightly.  Pietro reached over to take it from her.  He was livid.  Absolutely furious at this doctor for upsetting her so, but _he_ wasn’t going to upset her more by reacting badly.  That was certain.  

He tossed the phone behind him on the bed and wrapped her up in his arms precisely at the moment she began to wail.  “What are we going to do?”  

He rubbed her back and squeezed her a little tighter. “I’ll talk to Stark.  He’s bound to know someone.  If not a doctor, then someone who knows a doctor.”  

“You think?” she asked, sniffing loudly.  

“Definitely,” he assured her.  

“Can we call him right now?” She blinked a few times, tears dripping down her cheeks in the process.  Pietro was loathe to deny her anything, especially if she was crying.  

“Right now…” he agreed, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone.  He walked her over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress, pulling her flush against his side.  His mind was racing.  Dueling with himself on whether or not he should be worried about Darcy.  It never occurred to him that his enhancement might be passed along to his child.  And even if it had, it was just a passing thought, usually in jest.   Darcy had certainly joked about a tiny little speedster with a devilish grin who crawled at Mach 2 speeds, destroying their apartment in the process.  

But what if she was right?  What if the baby _did_ come out like him?  What if it was already like him?  What if that was why she’d been so sick?  Darcy had explained it away with a wave of her hand as morning sickness.  And sure, it seemed to have subsided in the past couple of weeks since she’d passed into the second trimester, but what if there were other problems?  

He drew a shaky breath and swiped around on his phone.  The faster he could contact Tony, the faster they’d be speaking to someone who could give them answers.  

“Are you okay?” he murmured, brushing his fingertips over her cheek.  “How are you feeling?”  

“Like my heart’s going to beat out of my chest.”  

He pressed his lips to her temple.  “Calm down, my _princeza…”_

She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his shoulder.  “Call Tony and I will.”  

He tapped Tony’s contact information, bringing the phone up to his ear and listened to it ring.  

“Tony’s Mule Farm, Head-Ass speaking…”  

Pietro sniffed, shaking his head.  “Tony.  It’s Pietro…”  

“I know that, Maximoff.  Believe it or not, I have you saved a contact.  Crazy how technology works, huh?”  

“Tony…”  

“Hmm?  Please make it quick, I’m super busy and important doing busy and important things…”  

“It’s about Darcy…and the baby?”  

“Please don’t tell me you need a talk, because…I’m not really good at those?  I’m more skilled at sarcastic comments?  Quips?  Etcetera?”  

Pietro rolled his eyes and pushed forward. “There’s a problem?  Her OB dropped her because she doesn’t have the malpractice insurance to cover a mother of a possibly enhanced child?”  

“Oh…” Tony sounded deflated.  “Like I said, I’m much better at glib conversation…but I’ll see what I can do.  Give me till tomorrow, okay?”  

“Okay…”  

“I’ll make some calls.  There’s bound to be someone out there who can do this.  Don’t worry.  I’ll handle it, okay, Piet?  Tell Darce not to worry.  I’ll take care of you guys…and that mini she’s carting around too.”  

Pietro felt somewhat relieved.  He knew everything wasn’t better yet, but it felt really, really good to hear someone say that. “Thank you, Tony.”  

“No problem, kid.  Take it easy.  Darcy too.  Make her lay down and relax. Call for takeout if it doesn’t make her sick.”  

“We will…” Pietro promised, ending the call.  

Darcy was looking up into his eyes.  “What’d he say?”  

“He said give him till tomorrow, he’ll take care of it.”  

She exhaled deeply, her head resting against him again.  He felt the tension ease out of her shoulders and he felt the smallest pang of something he couldn’t quite place. He wanted to be able to make her relax like that. To say one thing and have her trust that he’d come through for her.  He supposed in time they’d get to that level of trust.  Once he’d had time to prove himself.  It still made him sad to think that she was having his baby and they weren’t there yet.  

“You know I’d do anything for you, right?” he murmured into her hair.  “Because I would.”  

She squeezed him, nodding her head.  “I know that now.”  

“What?” he frowned, confused.  He hadn’t done anything.  He’d sat here and dialed a phone.  Gotten Tony Stark to take care of it.  

“You called Tony.  You didn’t even argue.  I know that was probably hard for you, given your past…” she trailed off and pressed her lips against his chest right below where her head was resting.  “You didn’t give it a second thought.  You called Tony.  Thank you.”  

“It’s…it’s what you wanted…” he explained.  

She nodded and hummed.  “And I love you for doing it.”  

That feeling in his chest was replaced by something else, something warm and flowing.  He eased her back onto the bed, crawling up after her when she moved up closer to the pillows.  Her eyes were still red, but she was smiling.  He leaned over to kiss her softly.    

“But I guess that means no sex tonight?”  She poked out her bottom lip to pout.  Adorably. He felt bad having to tell her no.  

He laid down beside her, his eyes sweeping over her.  “Not tonight, I am sorry, my _princeza_ …”  

She shook her head.  “No, it’s fine.  Not your fault.”  

“It _kind of_ is…”  

“Nah.  It’s no one’s fault.  Just a bump in the road…”  

He gathered her closer, stroking her back as her fingers traced his abs. It tickled, made him laugh.  “Having fun there?”  

“Not as much fun as I could be having, but enough for now…”  

He jumped when her fingers skidded over another of his ticklish spots.  “Want to watch TV?  I can go get your laptop?”

“Maybe later…”  she snuggled down against him.  “I’d rather just lay here with you.”  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! <3 Let me know how much you liked it, if you did. <3


	9. let me be there

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yay! An update! 
> 
> And a gender reveal! 
> 
> Oh, but there's also angst at the beginning. Pietro angst. :( Also, trigger warning for panic attacks. Pietro has a minor PTSD episode at the beginning here. :( I wasn't planning for this to happen at this point in the fic, but it felt right given what happened at the end of the last chapter, and how Pietro always, ALWAYS tries to be the strong one. *sobs* My bby. 
> 
> Also Helen Cho makes a very welcome appearance. Here she comes to save the day! :D (I hope I wrote her well enough, she gave me some trouble. I didn't want her to be like...faceless doctor person. I wanted to convey that there's a history here with Pietro, and with Darcy, and they both trust her? I hope I did an okay job of that here. <3 
> 
> Also. I did do some research on Amniocentesis? I know it usually takes weeks for the results to come back, but for all intents and purposes, and for ficcy reasons, it's going to take a shorter amount of time. ;) So don't jump all over me in the comments. <3 <3 <3 Just squint and move on. Be like Elsa and Let it Goooooo. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unbetaed, all the mistakes were mine. <3

Pietro’s heart was thudding uncontrollably in his chest.  He was legitimately worried that Darcy would hear it and wake up.  Gulping down the lump in his throat, he pulled her closer.  She made a tiny little grumbling sound in her sleep, but shifted to meld into his side.  

His mind was racing, even faster than usual.  Every possible worst-case scenario was occurring to him nearly simultaneously and it was overwhelming to say the very least.

Pietro didn’t even want to think about _any_ of the things running through his head, but it was almost as if he didn’t have a choice.  His brain was just taking him along for the ride and there was nothing he could do to stop it.  

So he attempted to concentrate on other things.  How his legs ached to move, how the bed sheets were irritating.

But then...without warning.  There it was.  

The Stark missile coming through their window, their building collapsing.  His parents, dead.  His sister, broken.  And him…the very image of stoicism.  Of control.  A variable statue of strength.  Not a tear shed, not a sniffle.   

His chest tightened painfully.   His jaw wobbled and he frowned, the lump in his throat was nearly choking him now.  He sat up with a loud gasp, his eyes burning as he struggled to pull himself back together.  For Darcy.  For the baby.    

Darcy sat up too, blinking back the sleep and turning to face him.  

His breath was rapid.  Too fast.  He was going to hyperventilate.  

Her arm tucked itself around his shoulder and he collapsed against her, wrapping his arms around her middle, his head cradled in her lap.  It took him a full minute to realize that the stifled sobbing sounds were coming from him.  

“Shhhhhh....” she whispered, the sound low and soothing as his shoulders shook.  “Shhh, it’s okay…”  

“But what if it is not? What if you are in danger?”  

She shook her head.  “I don’t feel like I’m in danger, Piet.”  

“But what if you _are_?”  

“Then we’ll figure out how to get me out of danger.  Okay?  We’ll figure it out.”  

That should have calmed him, but it didn’t. “I cannot sleep…” he confessed.  “I keep thinking about... _things_ …”   

Her hand appeared in his hair,  “Tell me.  What things?”  

Pietro shook his head, not wanting to verbalize them.  

“Will you tell Wanda? Maybe your shrink?  It seems like you should tell someone.  You can’t hold everything in. You’re like a soda bottle.  And you keep shaking.”    

He didn’t answer her.  Wasn’t going to make any promises concerning therapy.  

“And I know it’s probably not my place to tell you how to live your life...but...it’s not just you anymore, ya know?  There’s me.  And the baby?  If you can’t do it for me, maybe you could do it for the peanut?”  

His lips quirked up in the corners, almost against his will.  The peanut.  His peanut.  Their peanut.  “I will.  For both of you.”  His voice was raspy, growly.  It hurt to breathe, but the pain wasn’t nearly as bad as it was before.  

“And you know you can talk to me about anything, right?  I mean...I know we don’t have the best track record with being open and honest, but we can start whenever.”  

“I simply do not want to upset you, Darcy.”  

“In my _condition_?” she added.  

“In _any_ condition…” he admitted.  “My fears...they are dark.  They come from a place inside me that I do not like sharing.  Not even with Wanda.”  

She stroked his hair.  “That’s okay.  I just...want you to know that you can.”

He ran his hand over her belly, rucking up her t-shirt so he could press a kiss to her bare skin.  “Thank you…”  

“I mean...I don’t want you to think that _I_ think that I’m like...some kind of therapist or some kind of magical whatever who’s going to solve your problems...but I mean...just…” She let out a long sigh.  “I love you, okay?  And I want to be what you need.”  

He braced his hands on either side of her, pushing up.  “I love you too...and you _are_ what I need.  I _want_ to share everything with you.  And one day?  One day I will.  I am just...I scare myself sometimes...and I do not _ever_ want to scare you, my _princeza…_ ”  

And some of the thoughts he had?  They weren’t scary in a way that she might be frightened for her life, but simply...frightened that he could even _think_ of such things.  

“I don’t think that’s possible, babe.  But...you wait till you’re ready.  Okay?”  

“I _will_ go talk to someone.  I have a therapist.  I will go lie on the couch and talk. I hate the idea of it.  But for you...” He pressed a kiss to her belly.  “And for you?”  He rose up to kiss her lips again.  “For both of you, I will.”    

She leaned forward to return the kiss.  Short and sweet.  Just slightly longer than a peck.  Just a touch past chaste.  She lingered too long for it to be considered chaste, however.

It awakened something in him.  Maybe it was that calm that usually followed one of his panic attacks.  Maybe it was the angle of her head as she pressed her lips to his. Maybe it was the sound she made in the back of her throat.  Maybe it was that they’d gotten interrupted earlier.  

Whatever it was, it was awake and he had to disappoint it again.  Because there wasn’t any way he was doing _anything_ until they got the go ahead from whoever Tony had scrounged up to speak with them.  

He hummed, a low rumbly sound that made her giggle.  

“None of that, mister…”

“What?  I didn’t do anything…”  

“You’re getting all growly and sexy, stahp.”

“You like the growl?  This is good to know…” He pressed his lips against the delicate skin on her throat, growling again.  He felt her skin react, goosebumps forming on her arms.  

“Not fair, Maximoff…”  

“I think this is perfectly fair...given how delectable you look...I’d like to be able to turn things in my favor sometimes.”  

“Definitely not fair…” she argued. A half-hearted attempt at best, given how he was peppering soft kisses down the column of her throat.  “Don’t start something you can’t finish.”  

He inhaled deeply, knowing she was right.  He moved up to peck her lips again.  “To be continued?  Eh?”  

“Very continued.  Very to be.”  

He chuckled and laid back on the bed again, opening his arms and enveloping her in a hug that turned into a jumble of limbs as she rolled around to get comfortable.  

The clock on the side table read four am, and while Pietro didn’t expect to be able to fall asleep, he did.  

* * *

 

And was subsequently awakened the next morning by the loud blaring of his phone.  

He blinked and sat up, answering it with a gruff “ _Hello”_.  

“Where the hell _are_ you guys?  Everything okay?”  Tony’s voice on the other end actually sounded sufficiently worried.  Worried, tired and just a touch annoyed.  

“Sorry...sorry...we overslept…”  

“You overslept.  Well la-dee-dah, Kid Flash.  If you can find the time between now and _brunch_ , do you think you and Darce could manage to come down and meet with the doctor I flew in last night?”  

“We’ll be down there as soon as possible,” Pietro promised, rolling over to wake up Darcy, but finding her already awake.  He ended the call with Tony.  “Your doctor is here.”  

“Already?” Darcy raised her eyebrows, clearly impressed.  

Pietro shrugged.  “Apparently...are you...prepared to go down?”  

“Just let me get dressed and eat something.”  

“What do you want?  I’ll get it started.”  

“Just some toast.  With peanut butter.”  

He zipped out to the kitchen to make the toast.  He was slathering it with peanut butter when she emerged from the bedroom.  She ate it quickly, washing it down with a glass of water before looking around on the floor for her shoes.  

She finally found them and they were on their way to the elevator. His hand was protectively wrapped around her waist.     

There was a medical unit in one of the labs, so that was where they were headed.  

They entered the lab, and Pietro’s stomach settled somewhat for the first time since the previous night once he saw exactly _who_ Tony had procured for them.  

“Dr. Cho!” he greeted her jovially.  

“Pietro!” she answered, a wide grin spreading.  “How are you? How’s your back?  And your leg?” She reached out immediately to run her hand over his shoulder, assessing the damage she’d done her best to heal.  

Shrugging and answering, “Fine as ever…” He glanced back at Darcy, unsure if she knew Dr. Cho or if he should introduce them.  

“Helen...oh my god, I’m _so_ glad to see you!”  Darcy wrapped her up in a hug and Pietro almost laughed because of course Darcy knew Helen.  Of course she did.  Darcy knew everyone.  She was the only person in the whole lab who bothered to learn the interns’ names.   

Dr. Cho let her hand rest on Darcy’s belly as she started filling her in on everything.  Darcy glanced up to smile warmly at Pietro in the middle of her story.  He diligently stepped forward to place his own hand on the small of Darcy’s back, letting it rub in a small circle right where she always seemed to ache.  

Pietro couldn’t resist the urge to puff out his chest when Darcy referred to the baby as _their_ baby.  With her hand resting on the top of her belly while smiling up at him.  He wanted to kiss her.  Pick her up.  Spin her around.  

Of course, then Dr. Cho started leading them back to the medical unit, which made his stomach tie up in knots again.  Not as tightly as before.  More like...butterflies that had flapped themselves into knots.  

He shuddered.   _There’s an image…_

The unit had been lit softly, in stark contrast to the rest of the lab.  There were soft blue curtains that Helen tugged around the windows so there would be privacy.    There was an exam table, but it looked much more comfortable than the one in Darcy’s former OB/GYN.  There was a decided increase in the number of machines in the room, though.  He didn’t recognize all of them.  

“Pietro, if you’ll help Darcy up onto the table, we can get started,” Dr. Cho gestured towards the table.  

Offering  his arm, he helped her climb up on the table.  Her legs swung slightly as she got comfortable, tugging him over to stand beside her.  Linking their fingers, she pulled his hand into her lap.

Helen sat down in a stool, pulling up a file on her laptop.  “I have your medical records here, Darcy…I got them from Dr. Phillips. It seems like you’re having a fairly normal pregnancy, apart from some extended morning sickness?”   

Darcy nodded.  “Yeah...it’s kind of annoying...you don’t think that has anything to do with…?” She gestured towards his crotch, which made him roll his eyes and blush.  

“With my super sperm?”  he asked.  Which made _Darcy_ blush.    

Helen chuckled.  “No, no.  There’s nothing abnormal about the symptoms. I’m pleased with your progress so far.  There _are_ some tests I need to perform.  Just to check on the baby.  To get the lay of the land, so to speak?”  

“What kind of tests?” Pietro asked.  

“A pelvic exam and an ultrasound to start...and then an amniocentesis…”  

Pietro felt Darcy stiffen.  He wasn’t entirely sure what the amnio-whatever was, but Darcy knew.  And she didn’t seem to like the idea of it very much.  

“Is that...is it necessary?” Darcy asked, her voice sounding very small all of the sudden.  

He frowned, wanting to interrupt to ask exactly what it was.  

Helen seemed to note his confusion as well as Darcy’s trepidation.  “It’s a minor procedure...and the discomfort is mild.  If you’d like, I can numb the area beforehand.  But it _is_ necessary, I’m afraid.  I need a sample of the amniotic fluid to test the baby’s DNA and see if there is any trace of Pietro’s enhancement.”   

He looked up in alarm at Dr. Cho.  “Can it hurt the baby?”  

“The risk is minimal at this time in her gestation...and I will be able to tell you a definitive gender when I get the results.  If you are ready to hear that.”  

Pietro’s head was still swimming with thoughts of a large needle being poked into Darcy’s belly.  With their baby.  But they’d be able to know if the baby was a boy or a girl.  Of course, that all seemed kind of minor now that they were being faced down with death needles aimed at their baby.  

Darcy stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, catching his gaze and nodding slightly.  He knew it was for the best.  And if he trusted anyone to stick a needle into his girlfriend, it was Dr. Cho.  

“That’s fine,” Darcy answered.  “I’m not happy about it, but I understand.”  

“I wouldn’t expect you to be happy about something like this,” she said with a sympathetic smile.  “I’m sorry there isn’t a less-invasive way to perform the test...I will leave and let you undress from the waist down, if you don’t mind, you can wrap that sheet around your hips.  I’ll give you a pelvic exam just to make sure everything’s fine there.  Then I’ll do the ultrasound and then the Amnio. Hopefully we’ll all be out of here in time for lunch!”  Her positivity was almost contagious.

Almost.  

* * *

 

Darcy steadied her breath as Dr. Cho removed the needle from her belly, immediately covering the injection site with a piece of sterile gauze.  

Pietro had his face pressed down against her shoulder.  She reached over to tap him.  “It’s over.  You can look.”  Raising his head infinitesimally, she could see he was still pasty white.  Almost green.  “Are you still with me?”  

He nodded. “Sorry about that -- it was a big needle...”  

“Tell me about it,” Darcy quipped.

He tilted his head sympathetically.  “I’m sorry…”  

“No, no…” she laughed.  “It’s fine.  Needles...they’re kind of a freaky thing.  It’s okay if they make you queasy.”  

“How am I going to be when the baby comes?  I don’t want to be laying on the floor when they are born!”  

“You’ll be fine, Piet.  I doubt I’ll have a huge needle sticking out of my belly when I’m giving birth.”  

“No, no.  No needles other than the IV line,” Helen assured them as she gathered up her supplies to leave the room.  “I’ll be right with you, I just need to go set up the tests.”   

“See?”  Darcy said.   “And besides.  Look over here.  Helen made some stills for you.”  She pointed to the Ultrasound screen.  “She’s gonna print them out for us.”  

She couldn’t help but grin at his face.  “She got the one of them sucking their thumb…” Pietro’s voice was soft, almost a whisper.  “Look at them...with all their fingers and…their little head…”  

“Look at that nose, that’s definitely from you,” Darcy elbowed him playfully.  

Pietro squinted as he looked at the screen.  “Well look at that.  I apologize, little one.  For bestowing the Maximoff family snozz upon you…”  

“Ehhh, it’s not so bad.  I love that nose.”  

“I’m glad someone does,” he muttered.  

Helen returned to the room, holding an envelope in her hand.  “The results of the amnio will likely take until the end of the day.  But I do have something for you now...I didn’t need the amnio to be able to ascertain the gender. Quite the little exhibitionist you’ve got there.”  She winked and turned to leave again.  “I’ll give you a few moments. I do need to talk to you before you go.”

She shut the door behind her and Darcy caught Pietro’s gaze before she tore open the seal on the envelope.  

Inside were a few printouts of the ultrasound, and a folded up sheet of paper.  

Darcy took a deep breath, turning to look at him.  “Are you ready?”

“No?  But I want to know anyway.” He smiled nervously.

She unfolded the paper and squealed aloud at what she saw.  

_“Enjoy these ultrasound pictures of baby BOY Lewis-Maximoff.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> <3 <3 <3


	10. let me stay there awhile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh, the hiatus is over. I'm sorry I'm late posting this. <3 
> 
> But it's here and the hiatus is over and I'm so sorry I made you wait for so long! 
> 
> If accurate sciencing is something that's important to you, I'd advise you to skip this chapter and possibly the rest of this fic because the science will not be accurate. And I'm not open for discussion on the topic, because I have had this chapter ready for three weeks and have delayed posting bc I was worried about the inaccurate sciencing, soooooo I hope it's something you can make your peace with. <3 
> 
> I don't think I can deal with concrit right now, my brain is FRIED OMG LIFE IS SUCH A BUMMER SOMETIMES. That being said, if I make tiny typos, I want to know about them. You can message me on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/ask) to let me know, if you don't mind. I'll link it at the bottom too. Anon is totes fine. Thanks, doll-babies. <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *I've seen mixed responses about how long to wait for sex after an amnio, so I'm going with the most commonly seen, which was 48 hours. I am not a doctor. I am not a gynocologist. If you've had an amnio, please don't rely on fanfiction to tell you how long to wait. Call your actual doctor please.*
> 
> ANYWHO, there is some smutish behavior at the end of this, but they are ultimately responsible adults and nothing really happens. 
> 
> Sorry for the long author's note, but I just wanted to cover my bases. <3

A baby boy.  

Darcy pressed her lips together, the sheet of paper Helen had given her was still clutched between her fingers.  

_ A boy _ .  They were having a boy.  

Tears sprang to her eyes, swimming around and clouding her vision as she tried to peer at the the ultrasound printouts Dr. Cho had given them.  

He was so small.  He was so teeny tiny.    

“Are you alright?”  Pietro’s lips were on her temple, his arm snugly around her waist.  She leaned over against him, the solid wall of muscle that was his chest.  He smelled good.  Like… body wash and… detergent… and  _ man _ .  

She  _ just _ had a needle in her womb.  She shouldn’t be turned on right now.  

As long as she kept telling herself that, it was okay, right?  

The tears that had been swimming in her eyes were now heading for open waters, so to speak, and rolling down her cheeks.  

Jeebus, her hormones were fucked.  

“Yes?” she replied, her tone somehow both watery  _ and _ jubilant at the same time.

He chuckled, the sound deep and rumbling.  “You don’t sound so sure.”  

“I’m not…”

“Is something wrong?”  

She shook her head.  “Nothing’s wrong.  Everything’s  _ right.  _ Everything’s… so  _ great _ !”  She sniffled and buried her head in his shoulder as her body racked with sobs.  

His hand came up to rub her back, and he made soft little shushing sounds.  He was going to be such a good dad.  

And  _ that _ thought just made her wail all the more. 

“Darcy, is everything--”  Helen’s voice sounded so worried, it was almost funny.  So of course, it was time to laugh, right?  

Darcy still had tears rolling down her cheeks and every other breath was a hiccuping sob, but she still found this totally hilarious.  

“I’m...I’m fine.  It’s just… Fucked up hormones…”  

Helen tilted her head sympathetically.  “I cry during dog food commercials sometimes…” she admitted.  “The dogs… they look so happy?”  

“Oh my gah, they dooooooo,”  Darcy covered her face with her hands.  

Pietro’s eyes widened.  “I am not the professional here, but um… are you not supposed to make it better?  Not make her cry more?”

Helen patted Pietro’s shoulder.  “It’s better out than in. I’ll go grab some tissues and I’ll be right back, your results are in.”  

That thought took some of the humor out of the situation, calming Darcy for at least the time being..  She gripped Pietro’s hand and squeezed.  

Helen brought a box of tissues, of which Darcy used like fifteen before she deemed her nose sufficiently presentable enough for the results of the amnio.  

She was still gripping his hand as Helen sat down in a stool beside them.  She smiled and reached over to grip Darcy’s other hand.  “Darcy?  My darling girl…”  

Her brow knitted instantly.  This was bad news, right?  But Helen was smiling.  So good news?  Maybe?  “What?” she asked, her heart in her throat.  

“It looks like there is quite a bit of his father in him…” Helen tilted her head sympathetically.  “I found a definite enhancement in the baby’s DNA.  It matches Pietro’s almost exactly.  I can’t say with one-hundred percent certainty, but it looks as if the baby will share Pietro’s enhanced speed.  As well as his metabolism…”  

Darcy’s eyebrows went up.  “So I guess that leaves breastfeeding out of the question…”  

“ _ Well _ , not exactly.  See, I have another very interesting development to share… um…”  She flipped on her screen to the next page, flipping it around to show Darcy.  “The image on the left is the baby’s DNA strand, I’ve highlighted the enhancement.”  

Darcy squinted to see, her glasses were up on her nightstand in her bedroom.  There was a bright blue portion of the DNA strand highlighted though, and it was certainly…  _ different _ .  

“Right… and the one on the right is Piet’s?”  Darcy gestured to the other side, where a definitely different, but similar DNA sequence resided.  

“No, actually, that’s  _ yours _ …”  

“Come again?” Darcy squinted once more at the strand.  “What… I don’t know what I’m looking at…”  

“ _ This _ is Pietro’s…”  Helen sent a 3D rendering up as a projection in the air. It was entirely blue.  “His entire DNA strand is affected by his enhancement…  _ this _ is yours…”  She brought up the strand from the right.  And the baby’s…”  The strand from the left dropped down between them.  “As you can see,  _ yours _ has been altered as well…”  

Darcy nodded curtly.  “So… what you’re saying is… I have a sexually transmitted enhancement?”  

Pietro snorted, his lips pressing together before he mumbled something that sounded like, “Oh Darcy…”

Helen smiled.  “Sort of?”  

He squeezed Darcy’s knee apologetically. 

Helen continued, “It’s really rather remarkable and I’m… honestly baffled.  The human body surprises me each and every day…” Shesent all the DNA models away.  “Basically, the baby’s DNA is modifying yours so that you will be better equipped to mother it.  You will have an increased metabolism, not as much as Pietro’s, but enough.  You will likely have heightened reflexes, less of a need for sleep…I could go on, but it would be just conjecture.  We will really have to watch you for the rest of the pregnancy and just see how it all unfolds!”  

Helen looked downright giddy about the whole thing.  Darcy was…  _ less _ than giddy.  

“So wait… you’re telling me that… I am going to be quicker on my feet and more hungry and sleep less and it's all going to happen after the baby’s here?”  Her chest was tightening up because holy shit that was a lot of stuff to take in.  

“No, it’s… it’s already happening now. You’ve likely already started to see subtle changes.  More will make themselves known in the next few weeks.”        

Pietro took a deep breath. He’d been strangely silent for most of the interchange, with his snort-laugh outburst notwithstanding.  “Is she…” he glanced over at Darcy, a worried look on his face.  “Is she going to be okay?”  

Helen reached out to squeeze his hand.  “She’s going to be fine.  And so is the baby.”  

Pietro slipped his arm around her waist, pulling her closer.  As close as she could be on the narrow exam table that definitely wasn’t made for snuggling.  

“Alright…”  Helen released Pietro’s hand and stood up.  “I think you both should go back to your apartment and rest…  _ Darcy _ in particular… don’t be up on your feet for the rest of the day. Pietro, make sure she’s laying down.  Treat her like a princess. Wait on her hand and foot.”  

He grinned, standing and zipping around to the other side of the exam table to help Darcy hop off.  “That is literally my favorite thing to do, so it should be no trouble at all.”

“AKA how I end up not moving for the next twelve hours…”  Darcy said, smiling fondly at Pietro as they made their way to the lab doors.  

“Call me if there is anything out of the ordinary.  Spotting.  Watery discharge… anything like that...”  Helen tapped around on her screen.  “I’m sending you a document containing the lists of warning signs to look out for.  I don’t anticipate that there will be a problem, but if there is, you have my contact information in your phones now.  And I will be working from this lab for the remainder of your pregnancy, Darcy.  Consider me at your  _ and _ your baby’s beck and call.”  

“Thank you so much, Dr. Cho…” Pietro gushed, he released Darcy for a moment, long enough to hug Helen and pat her back firmly.  

She returned the gesture.  “It’s really a pleasure… “  She stepped out of the hug and divided her gaze between the two of them.  “I’m really happy for both of you.”  

It was Darcy’s turn to hug Helen next.  “When should we plan on seeing you again?”  

“Twice a week from now until you have the baby… so I guess I’ll see you on Friday morning?  Around nine?”      

“Awesome...oh…”  Darcy stopped walking.  She looked Helen dead in the eye and said one word and one word only.  “Sex?”  

Pietro choked on his tongue and Helen smiled.  

“Wait forty-eight hours, if everything is normal, go nuts.”  

They said their goodbyes, boarding the elevator to go back up to the apartment. Darcy could barely contain her mirth and Pietro was practically vibrating with nerves.  “You are trouble, Darcy Lewis.”  

“So are you.”  

“Never said I wasn’t.”  

* * *

 

Pietro might have been having a bit too much fun with his instructions from Dr. Cho.  

Darcy let her head flop back onto the pillow he had tucked behind her.  “Let me at  _ least _ walk around the apartment.”  

“Off your feet, laying down… being treated like a  _ princeza _ .  Those are the doctor’s orders, Darcy.  Would you have me go against Dr. Cho?”  He raised his eyebrows quizzically.  “I am not a rule breaker, Lewis.” 

Laughing, she swung her legs around to rest her feet on the floor.  “That is the biggest lie you’ve ever told, Maximoff.  Now move so I can go answer the call of nature.”

He held out his hand to help her rise from the sofa, placing it on the small of her back as she steadied herself, her hand reaching out to the side, grasping at air as she blinked.  

He raised his eyebrows smugly.  “See?  You shouldn’t be up.” 

“I’m supposed to just hold the pee?  I’m pregnant.  And I’m only lightheaded because you won’t let me sit upright.”  

She walked down the hall, her fingertips dragging along the wall as she went.  

Pietro used this opportunity to fluff the pillows she’d had under her. To straighten the couch cushions.  To take a deep breath and let it out again.  

She was okay.  She was fine.  The baby was fine.  Everything was going to be fine.  

He heard the toilet flush and then the water running as she washed her hands.  He heard the bathroom door opening and her heavy footsteps as she made her way back out to the living room.  

Pietro smiled when she appeared in the archway, one hand on the top of her belly and the other grazing first the doorframe and then the back of the sofa as she moved towards him.  She returned his expression.  “What’s up, Giggles?”  

He chuckled at that.  “Giggles?”  

She shrugged.  “You look super happy right now.  Glowing.  Like…” She tilted her head.  “Trying to steal my thunder?  I’m supposed to be the glowing one around here…”  

He got up, zipping over to slip his arm around her waist, his other hand into her outstretched one.  Pressing his lips to her knuckles, he murmured,  “No one could ever out-glow you, Darcy.”  

She blinked as he eyes adjusted to him being so close.  “You’re completely different than I expected,” she blurted.  

He led her over to the couch.  Real conversations aside, she had been standing for longer than he’d like.  Doctor’s orders, after all.  “I’m sorry I gave you such a skewed impression…” 

“No!  No… Piet… I…”  she trailed off.  “I didn’t mean it like that.”  She kissed him then, kissed him hard enough that his stomach fluttered and his hands grasped at her, fisting in the hem of her shirt and forgetting for a moment that he was on a mission.  A mission to get her off her feet.  

Now, all he could think about was the way her lips felt when they melded against his.  The way her body curved towards him.  It was different now, with her belly all rounded, he had to adjust the way he stood, but she was short enough that it wasn’t that big of an adjustment.  

A moan rumbled up from deep inside him, and if he didn’t know better, he’d say it was because of the fluttering in his stomach. The tingling heat that seemed to travel down, down, down…

He ended the kiss abruptly, softly panting as he turned and sat down on the sofa, tugging her gently to follow.  

It was easier like this.  She could turn, fitting into his side as her lips found his again.  Her hand moved into his hair, gripping and tugging and making that tingle much more prominent.

Something told him they should stop.  That he shouldn’t let her hand move down his chest, over his belly… down further to where the heated tingles were the most acute.  Where every brush of her fingers had him spiralling, but he couldn’t think beyond what her hand was doing.  Stroking him in his pants.  It wasn’t fair, not when he couldn’t reciprocate.  

And he definitely didn’t want to deny her if she asked.  

So he took her hand, gently lacing their fingers as he softened his kisses.  “We can’t…”  he murmured.  

She pressed her lips to his.  “Just for you then?”  

He shook his head, smiling.  “I’m not selfish…”  

“Didn’t say you were… just… wanted to do something for you…”  

“And I will let you… in two days.”  

“You are the best kind of tease,” she countered, settling herself against him. She turned her body so her ass was pushed fully against his crotch, and he was practically spooning her from behind. The hard line of his member was pressing against her back and making him think that she was mistaken.  That  _ Darcy _ was the best kind of tease.  

Call him a masochist, but he didn’t readjust their positioning.   It felt just good enough to take the edge off the ache that was settling where the tingles had been.  It was verging on crampy, but it wasn’t something a cold shower and a run around the park wouldn't fix.  

She chuckled a little, reaching for the remote to resume her Netflix binge of Cheers.

“What’s funny?” he asked, amused.

“You just cockblocked yourself.”

He sniffed indignantly. “Cockblocked  _ you _ too.”  

“I don’t have a cock, you straight up ran cliterferance,” she countered.  

He swallowed thickly, turning to face her and lowering his voice. “I  _ do  _ want you.  That isn’t--”  

She kissed him, effectively shutting him up.  “I know that.  But I also know why you stopped me.  And if you keep surprising the hell out of me like this, I dunno what’s gonna happen.  My head’s gonna start spinning like a top.”

Smiling, he cuddled against her, resting his chin on her head. “I will have to keep surprising you then.  I would very much like to see that.”     

“I love you,” she whispered, reaching for his hand.  

“Love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please message me on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/ask) if you find typos, you can stay on anon if you want. 
> 
> Otherwise, if you feel like it, you could leave me some sugar in the comments? I have a helluva sweet tooth and I love me some sugar. <3

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [tumblr](http://dresupi.tumblr.com/)!


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